The Scarlet Letter
by Queen of Kaos
Summary: Their relationship flourished in the confines of luxury hotel rooms and secret meetings while their spouses were away. But can it survive the aftermath of their sordid affair? BatistaOC
1. Chapter 1

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: I have no idea where this story came from, or if there's any more to it than this. It might be a OneShot, or it might develop into more. I just know I had the thought, and this is how it manifested itself. As always, Enjoy!**

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Doctor. Teacher. Lawyer. Astronaut. Cowgirl. President of the United States. Meredith Casey had dreamt of being many things when she was a girl, growing up in rural Indiana. "Adultress" had never made the list.

Of course, she doubted any little girl ever dressed up in her mommy's dresses and heels, snuck into the make up drawer, and then looked in the mirror and thought, "I'm gonna steal somebody's husband someday." But it happened. Every day. In every town. In every socio-economic class and race and religion.

Feeling all too much like Hester Prynne, she pulled her scarlet hair into a fat ponytail and ran her hands over her face. For the millionth time in six months, she told herself that she should have said "no." She should have walked away. She should have gone to her own room that night.

Sure, he was irresistibly sexy and incredibly alluring. But it didn't justify her actions anymore. And she knew it wasn't going to make the people they loved hurt any less. The guilt of breaking hearts and homes was wearing on her more everyday and she knew that it had to stop. She had to stop it. Now.

"Hey," she smiled nervously, her hands in the back pockets of her jeans while she hovered in the threshold between the bathroom and the master bedroom.

He was her Prince Charming. Everything she had ever thought about owning, he had given her. And everything she had wanted to feel about herself, he had brought out in her. His kisses made the world come alive, and the glint in his eyes when she walked into the room made it spin on its axis.

Their wedding had been traditional enough to appease his side of the family, and trendy enough to please her. She remembered the candles burning brighter on that day than she had ever seen them, before or since. She remembered the aisle of the church had seemed a mile long, and that all she had wanted was to kick of her Jimmy Choo's and run to him. She remembered the cigar smell on the priest's breath as he read the vows that they each repeated. And she remembered the way her heart had done somersaults in her gut when he had kissed her for the first time as her husband.

As he packed meticulously folded underwear and tee shirts into his carry-on suitcase, he hummed a classical tune to himself, just like he always did before a business trip. He was twenty years her senior, with the body of men ten years her junior. His strong features told his colleagues that he was not to be toyed with, but his kind eyes and gentle hands welcomed his children and grandchildren to hours of play time over the years.

When he smiled at her, she nearly threw up in the floor. "Are you feeling alright, Sweetheart?" he asked, ignoring his packing and rushing to her side. "I don't want to leave you if you're not feeling well."

When he touched her forehead, she smiled weakly. "I'm fine, Daniel. Thank you," she whispered, moving past him to the bed. The earth was beginning to spin beneath her feet and she was afraid that if she didn't sit soon, she would pass out.

Daniel Casey turned to his wife with concern in his brilliantly blue eyes. She had been only twenty-one when they met, a student at the nearby University of Tampa. Her aspiration had been in fashion design, and her knowledge of business and marketing had impressed him, even above her curvaceous body, flawless features, and blazing red hair.

The odds had been stacked against them from the beginning. His parents, his ex-wife, and his youngest daughter, hadn't approve. He was a father of three, the eldest boy being only two years younger than Meredith. They insisted that she was just a gold-digger, looking for a sugar daddy. There was no way that a twenty-one-year-old girl would fall for a forty-two-year-old man based on love alone.

Even his friends and business associates laughed at the prospect of their relationship enduring. They did, however, assure him that she would make a fine first wife, and that they wouldn't think any less of him when she took all of his money and ran off with the pool boy.

None of it mattered to Daniel, though. Upon her college graduation, she was appointed the Vice President of Marketing with his acquisitions company, and together they had built a beautiful life together. Now, nearly ten years later, the only thing he regretted was that she was hesitant to have his child because of his rigorous travel schedule. While he understood, he always felt it would be the one thing that would complete their almost-perfect union.

She leaned against the bed and thought about what an unconventional pair they had made. In the office, they were an impeccably-tailored pair, each carrying an air of intimidating professionalism. But at home, he was comfortable in khakies and polo shirts, while she lounged in jeans, tank tops, and her own punk-inspired creations. Even at the age of twenty-nine, she could rock a mini-skirt and combat boots better than her college counterparts.

She wasn't really sure when she had started to notice the drastic differences between them. What she did know for sure was that every night that she spent with her secret lover, the more definitive those differences became in her mind. And she knew that it wasn't fair to the man who had loved her, even when everyone said that he shouldn't.

"Alright," he smiled brightly, lifting his carry-on from the bed and setting it carefully on the floor. "I think I have everything." He nodded to the briefcase on the desk and Meredith stood to grab it, following him dutifully down the hall.

The birds were singing around them as they stepped out of the house. The sun was shining and a few of the neighbors were mowing their verdant lawns or watering their blossoming flower gardens. Nature acted as though it had no premonition, no warning as to how this day would end.

"Alright, Sweetheart," Daniel said, after loading his luggage into the trunk. He took her arms in his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I will see you in four days."

She kicked herself inwardly for not saying something sooner. Why had she waited until he had to leave? Couldn't she wait for until he returned? When they would actually have time to discuss what had happened?

"Daniel, when you come home," she said, wishing to hell that she could keep her mouth shut a little bit longer, "I, um," she ran her hand over the top of her ponytail. "I won't be here."

"Oh?" he asked obliviously, opening the door of the car. "Are you going away with the girls?"

She shook her head, the lump in her throat making it impossible to speak anymore. "No," she managed to whisper before the tears streamed down her cheeks.

Daniel saw his wife dip her head, staring hard at the driveway as droplets of tears fell to the concrete below them. "Meredith, what's going on?" His gut felt the truth, but his mind refused to believe it. There had to be another explanation. Anything but his greatest fear.

She took a deep breath and sniffled. "I'm so sorry, Daniel." When she finally raised her emerald eyes to meet his, the pain and confusion staring back at her broke her already shattered heart into pieces. "It's not your fault."

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Daniel slid behind the wheel and started the car, shutting the door as though she had said nothing at all. Meredith wrapped her arms around her stomach, fighting the sobs that were threatening to rack her body. He hated to see her cry, and she would implode before she made this any harder for him.

She studied the wheels of the car as they began to roll backwards and then stop. When he rolled down his window, she took another breath to calm herself and then looked up. One of the things she had always admired about him was his ability to stare adversity down without flinching. Seeing the tears brimming in his eyes now was more than she could handle. Maybe it was her own guilty conscience, but she could have sworn that he had aged thirty years in the last five minutes.

"There's someone else, isn't there?" he asked

She shook her head, but said nothing. Whether she admitted it verbally or not, his heart would ache the same. Wiping her eyes, she tried to compose herself enough to mouth her final "good-bye" and then turned back toward the house.

She would pack only what she had purchased for herself, and be gone before he returned, just as she had promised. None of the things had ever really mattered to her anyway. At the moment, all she wanted was to rid his life of any reminder that he had been married to a lying, deceiving, back-stabbing, adulterer.

Barely making it back to the bathroom, she collapsed onto the bed and hugged her knees to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Her life, as she had come to know it, was over. And she wasn't entirely sure that the one waiting for her would offer her a fraction of the happiness that this one had.

The ringing of her cell phone drew her face from the pillows she had fallen into. She was in no condition to answer the phone, but if anyone understood her state of mind, it was him. "Dave," was all she managed, before gasping another sob.

"Is he gone?" his deep voice rumbled in her ears, providing a slight reprieve from the overwhelming pain she was feeling. When she manage to mutter a confirmation, he let out a deep sigh. "I'll be there in ten minutes. We started this thing together, we'll deal with it together." There was a slight moan of response from her end. "Meredith? Sweetheart, you're gonna have to calm down for me, okay? Take a breath."

She did as she was instructed and tried her damnedest to collect herself. "I feel like such a horrible bitch," she managed before another round of tears coursed through her.

"I know, Sweetheart," he answered, offering no contradiction. "I'm in the car. I'm on my way. I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?" Hearing her anguish was breaking his heart and making his mind reel. "Meredith, baby, I know it hurts. I know it does. We're gonna get through it, though. I promise you we're gonna get through it together."

As she continued to cry in his ear, Dave Batista rested his elbow against the open window of his Escalade and rubbed his creased forhead. Contrary to popular opinion, he had never been in this position before, either. He'd never known the agonizing torture of looking the woman he had promised to love, honor, and cherish forever in the face and tell her that he had broken those vows. Not before last night.

"Dave," Meredith's tiny voice broke into his thoughts once more. "I have to go now."

He cleared his throat as he punched the security code into the gate outside her housing community. "I'm on your street, baby. I'm almost there."

"I have to throw up," she said, her voice sounding distant and disconnected.

Nodding, Dave flipped his phone shut and parked his car in her driveway. For the first time in six months, he didn't care if the neighbors saw him. He didn't care what all of the bitches on Wisteria Lane had to say about him or his mistress.

He used his key in the front door and followed the sickening sounds of her purging up the stairs. Moving inside the bathroom, he knelt beside her and pulled her long hair out of her face as she finished. When she rested her cheek against the cool porcelain of the seat, her eyes found his, the sadness resonating between them.

"We're going to hell," she whispered.

Dave nodded in understanding and sat on the heated stone tiles of the floor. Pulling her into his arms, he rocked her slightly as she continued to cry.

Though their relationship had evolved from just a physically intimate fling, he had yet to fully express his feelings for her. They were both married, and it had never seemed appropriate. But now, as she shook in his arms, he felt as though no one had ever needed to hear the words more than she did at that moment.

Kissing the top of her head, he bent his lips to her ear, brushing her soft skin slightly. "I love you, Meredith."

It didn't make everything okay. It didn't even really make things better. But somehow, it was still nice to hear. Running her fingers nimbly over the Buddhist bracelet on his right wrist, she stared blankly at the hem of his pants. Her voice was barely audible, but she knew that he heard her. "I love you, too."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, y'all. I have to warn you that the updates for this story may not come as fast as some of my other stories because I'm really focused on making sure that I do justice to the extremely sensitive situations I'm exploring here. I'm really enjoying this story, so I hope you guys continue to love it, too. Enjoy!**

She looked like an angel, sleeping peacefully on the bed they had picked out together more than a month ago. The moment she laid eyes on the four-poster, platform design in the furniture showroom, he could hear the breath hitch in her throat. She had gripped his hand tightly, and when he turned to her, she let out a little squeal. He had ordered it on the spot.

Now her flaming hair splayed across the sateen sheets, her soft snoring like a contented, purring kitten. The only sign of the woman he had carried from the bathroom a few hours earlier were the red splotches and bags under her eyes, results of more crying than he had ever seen from anyone, even his children.

As he watched her from the couch across the room, Dave rested his elbows on his knees and ran his hands over his scruffy face. He was well-aware that the stress of his personal life and the chaos of his professional life were starting to take a toll on his body. The insomnia that he had developed was affecting his appearance and his performance, but he knew that it wouldn't dissipate anytime soon.

The rustle of the sheets drew Dave's attention and he couldn't help but smile when Meredith shifted from her back onto her side and snuggled further beneath the mocha bedspread. In moments like that, he found it hard to believe that what they were doing was wrong. How could anything she did be wrong?

Standing, he ran his hands over his jeans and moved into the small kitchen of the apartment he had secured for her. He wondered, not for the first time, if their relationship would ever get easier. Though they no longer had to deal with the sneaking around, the secrets and lies, the road to happily-ever-after was still set to be long and tedious.

But even with the obstacles, he couldn't shake the feeling that had filled his chest when she had looked at him the first time.

_It was June, and he was itching to get back into the groove of a full-time travel schedule. Sitting at home, watching his brand go down the toilet in his absence, was driving him crazy. While he loved his wife, listening to her endless yammering for six months was more than he could take. He was starting to realize that they were just one of those couples that could only last if they were apart more than they were together._

_On top of the other irritations, a summer cold was beginning to settle into his sinuses. While it sounded pussy, colds were worse than the flu, in his opinion. Working out had always been his escape when he was frustrated with his wife, his kids, or his job. He'd always worked around the hurdle of his asthma, but coupled with a cold, breathing was nearly impossible. The headache that had plagued him perpetually for the last four days was only adding to the frustration as each press of the weights took him closer to passing out._

_After being pushed one too many times by an argument over throw pillows, he stormed out without explanation, intent on finding medicine to solve at least one of his problems. He took the long way, however, driving around Tampa, Florida for more than two hours._

_Feeling more relaxed, Dave entered the drug store and found the sinus pills with little trouble. He cast a glance around, and in a moment of weakness, called home to see if there was anything she needed. When she told him that there was only one condom left in the drawer, he almost laughed at her. As far as he was concerned, they wouldn't be going through that one any time soon, let alone need anymore._

_Instead, he hung up the phone and wandered to the aisle he knew better than any other. He was vaguely aware of the people beside him as he looked over the selection, but made no attempt to turn his head._

_The sounds of a driving metal song pierced the air, followed by a grunt. "Emma, hold Grandpa's stiffy pills, baby." Dave tried to stifle the grin as the voice sounded again. "Hey, sexy man. Are you home?. . . Yay. . . How was the flight. . . Runnin' errands with Emma. . . Yeah, Jaden dropped her off this morning. . . I don't know, Daniel, I didn't really ask a lot of questions. . . Sure." She turned to the small girl at her side. "Here, Sweetie. Grandpa wants to say 'hi'."_

_The little girl with the blonde pigtails threw the bottle in her hand to the ground and took the phone in both hands. "Hi, Grandpa!" _

_Dave felt the plastic pill bottle roll into the side of his foot and bent to pick it up, nearly colliding with the young woman already kneeling at his feet. She turned her face and muttered an "I'm sorry." _

_He was going to assure her that it was fine, assure her that he was actually finding the whole situation quite amusing, but one look in her green eyes stopped him dead in his tracks. He had seen thousands of beautiful women in his life, and there was nothing to distinguish her from any of them. _

_Sure, there was her brilliantly red hair and her piercing green eyes, but he'd seen that before. Even the tiny denim skirt paired with a torn tank top and flip flops wasn't an all-together original look. Yet, something about this one was different. Something in her eyes was screaming at him. _

_The words "she's the one" rattled in his head, but he laughed it off as she stood. The tiny voice behind her said, "Me and Meredith are getting your stiffy pills."_

_With a groan and an embarrassed smile, Meredith shot him one last apologetic glance and turned around to snatch the phone from the little girl. "Oh, thank you, Emma." She held the phone to her ear and rolled her eyes, well aware that the stranger at her side was now shooting furtive glances out of the corner of his eye in her direction. "Oh, relax, Daniel. . . she doesn't even know what it means!. . . I've gotta go pay for this shit, so I'll just see you at home. . . what? . . . I'm sorry I said shit," she flipped the phone shut and grabbed the little girl's hand again._

Why he couldn't get her out of his head, Dave didn't know. But by the time she walked into a bar in Milwaukee, Wisconson three weeks later, he recognized her immediately.

_He told the bartender to put whatever she ordered on his tab, and then graciously smiled when she raised her glass to thank him. He walked past the bar with a few of his teammates and felt a jolt of electricity when she reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "Leaving so soon?" she asked._

_He recognized in that instant that she was already drunk, but he couldn't just walk away when she was inviting him to join her. Instead, he sat and let her return his previous favor by buying the next three rounds. _

_They talked about their jobs, and their favorite music. Conversation ranged from politics to movies, and somehow found it's way to spouses. Knowing that they were both a little too intoxicated didn't stop them from venting some frustrations over the ones they had vowed to love for better or worse. And even as they crossed the line, he couldn't tell himself to stop, not with her nearly spilling out of her corset and rubbing his thigh._

_"It's not like he's that old, ya know? He's only 50. Maybe it's me," Meredith sighed after explaining Daniel's recent performance issues._

_Dave chuckled and shook his head, making no attempt to hide the way his eyes dragged over her figure. "Oh, it's not you," he assured her._

_She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sat her glass on the bar. "That's what he says, too, but it kinda makes me wonder, ya know? I mean, if this is already happening, what's it gonna be like when he's 60? I'm just hitting my sexual prime. I like going for more than ten minutes. I'm ready to try new things, and he's just," she stopped and searched for the right word, "not."_

_The way she worked her fishnet-clad foot up his ankle was about to drive him crazy. That's when he realized that she hadn't told him that particular piece of information by accident. She was sexually frustrated, and he couldn't say that he was much better off. Even though he'd spent months at home, he had stopped sleeping in the same bed with his wife, let alone making love to her, more than a month ago. _

_"So what are you gonna do about it?" Dave asked, flashing her a smile that he knew his fans described as 'panty-dropping.'_

_Meredith shrugged and handed the bartender her credit card. "I knew he was going to lose his drive before I did when I married him. It's a calculated risk, I guess," she sighed, draining the last of her drink. "On the plus side, he's bought me all kinds of new toys lately. They're just plastic, but it's whatever." Raising an eyebrow, she grasped her purse and prepared to make her leave for the evening as the bartender returned her card._

_He knew it was inappropriate, but the alcohol kept him from caring. As he watched her signing the bill, he withdrew his own wallet and flipped it open. Double-checking his information, he waited until she finished and then took her pen, scribbling his phone and room number onto one of the colored napkins._

_Standing, he tucked his wallet back into his pocket and folded the napkin, offering her a hand to help her off of the stool. She thanked him and looked at the paper he had just given her, smiling seductively when she realized what he was offering. Her eyes glinted with a touch of "it's a nice offer, but you know I can't," though she didn't say it._

_Shrugging, Dave leaned over and dropped a kiss on her cheek. "In case you get tired of the plastic," he winked as he pulled away and left her there. _

_If she chose to, he would relieve her tension for one night. She could return the favor. They never had to speak of it again. Even though they lived in the same area of Tampa, he knew the chances that they would see each other again were slim. Though he probably should have felt guilty for even propositioning another woman, he didn't._

"Dave?"

Her voice was groggy and vulnerable, sounding miles away though she was on the other side of the wall. When he rounded the corner, two cups of steaming coffee in his hands, she was shovelling her hair out of her face and looking around in slight confusion.

"Hey there, kasint'ahan," he greeted warmly. In his mother's native Filipino tongue, it meant "sweet heart." His father had learned it when the pair began dating, as a term of endearment, and Dave vividly remembered hearing him greet his wife with the phrase each morning when he was a small child.

Meredith had fallen in love with the phrase from the moment he told her the story of his parents, and tears had formed in her eyes the first time he had used the term with her. "Thank you," she whispered, taking the mug from him and sipping at it. "Whoah," she blinked her eyes in response and looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Are you tryin' to get me drunk?"

Dave shrugged slightly and lowered himself to the bed beside Meredith, reaching out to run his finger over the denim on her thigh. "Thought it might help you relax," he admitted. "You want mine? It's virgin," he offered the trade.

Meredith shook her head and drank from her own cup again. "I'll take any comfort I can get right now," she responded, setting the mug on the bedside table and resting her head on his shoulder. "Can you say the other thing I like?"

Laying his cheek on the top of her head, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply the scent of her shampoo. "Walang ligaya sa lupa na hindi dinilig ng luha."

"There is no earthly bliss not watered by tears," she repeated the closest English translation, just as he had explained it to her. "I love when you speak Filipino," she said, running her fingers over his bracelets as she always did when she was thinking too much.

Dave gave a half-chuckle and wound his arm around her waist, caressing her hip with his thumb. "Too bad I don't know very much," he sighed, staring at the eggplant color of her walls, too lost in his own thoughts to ask about hers. "You're turn," he said finally.

"Blech," she scrunched up her nose and stuck out her tongue at his request. "Gaelic is so gutteral, Dave. It's not sexy," she protested, just as she always did when he asked her to share some of her family's native Irish tongue.

"Oh, right," he laughed. "Because 'dinilig ng luha' sounds so smooth."

She turned in his arms and stared into his eyes, placing her palm on his cheek. "Everything sounds sexy when you say it."

When they made the decision to follow their hearts and be together, they had also agreed to forego any physical intimacies until they had left their respective spouses. That had been almost six weeks ago. Though he knew they should probably be brainstorming acts of eternal penance for their sins, all he wanted at the moment was to taste her again.

As his lips met hers for a kiss as explosive as their first had been so many months ago, Meredith slid her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck, feeling his tiny goosebumps and the soft hairs standing to greet her touch. She ran her tongue slowly over his top lip, revelling in the taste of his tooth paste mixed with the strong coffee he had been drinking.

Dave tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her chest flush against his as he sucked on her bottom lip. Though there was a hint of the Bailey's that he had added to her drink, he found himself delving deeper into the taste that was uniquely Meredith.

Meredith pulled back to catch her breath, her eyes closed as she whispered, "Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach."

Dave smiled and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, running his thumb along her jaw line. "What's it mean?" he asked, his voice dangerously low as his lips still brushed against hers.

Finally, Meredith opened her eyes and returned the smile, her first in nearly a week. "We'll live to fight another day." _But it's sure as hell not gonna be easy._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: I know I said I probably wouldn't be updating this story very often, but I have to admit that there is something so addictive about it and I just can't seem to get enough of Dave and Meredith right now.**

_The hotel danced with flickering light. The mattress on the bed against the far wall was plush and inviting, yet stripped down to it's fitted sheet. Meredith and Dave lounged amongst blankets and pillows on the floor in front of the mejestic fireplace in the honeymoon suite. _

_"You didn't have to pay for all of this, ya know? A regular room would have been fine," Dave said, his voice low as he trailed his finger over his lover's pale arm, smiling as the goosebumps jumped to meet him._

_Turning in his arms, she stared up into his eyes with a brilliant smile. "What fun would that be?" She tilted her face and accepted a quick kiss before tightening the sheet around her and settling on her back. "Besides, you always spend too much on me. I thought it was finally my turn."_

_"Uh huh," he mumbled, his fingers moving over her shoulder and under the sheet, feeling her heated, soft flesh as she moaned slightly in response. "So this isn't just some elaborate ruse to make me forget what we talked about last time?"_

_Looking up into his eyes, Meredith felt her heart beat faster. After four months of dating him in secret, she was beginning to find herself increasingly torn between what her head knew she should be doing, and what her heart was desparately wanting._

_The decision to go to him that night in Milwaukee hadn't been difficult. She had been sober enough to know what she was doing, but drunk enough not to care. There was nothing intimate about the encounter. Just two people releasing some sexual tension. And it should have been the end._

_They shouldn't have been laying together months later, after countless phone calls and passionate meetings, warding off thoughts about how they would have to part again in a few hours. "I don't know what you're talking about," she feigned innocence, fluttering her eyelashes._

_"Maybe I should remind you, then," he whispered, lowering his face to hers, setting her skin on fire with a searing kiss full of hunger and need. She moaned as his tongue slid over hers, her body melting toward his. _

_When he was sure that she was completely surrendered, he pulled back and rested his hand against her stomach. "Hm?" Meredith asked, her eyes still closed as she ran her tongue over his lips to taste him. _

_With his lips close to her ear, he spoke in low tones that he knew turned her to mush. "I want you with me, Meredith."_

_"I am," she muttered, wiggling slightly under his touch, coaxing his hand lower._

_But Dave held steady, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. From the moment she had knocked on the door of his hotel room that night, he knew that his days of attempting to fix his marriage were over. He would hang on for the sake of his daughters, if he had to. But his heart was moving further and further away from the woman he had married, and closer to this one laying beside him._

_"We're married," she muttered as he pushed the sheet further down her chest and began to run his finger in gentle circles over the exposed skin just above the swell of her breasts. _

_"I know."_

_"To other people," she reminded, arching his back into his touch._

_"I know."_

_Her eyes fluttered open. "It's only been four months," she reminded him, as though he hadn't checked every day off of the calendar in his mind. "That's not very much time."_

_He nodded, his lips pursed together as he examined her feature. His Adam's Apple moved slowly as he swallowed and licked his lips before speaking. "Do you love him?"_

_Meredith's eyes clouded slightly. "I do," she said honestly. "I'm always going to love him, Dave. Just because I'm not in love with him anymore," she sighed and shook her head, realizing that she had just admitted it out loud for the first time. "It doesn't make leaving him easy."_

_He understood every doubt and uncertainty that she had. And she knew that he did. There was no need to say it, he would only sound cliche. "I can't tell you what to do, baby. I can only tell you that I'll be right there, going through it with you."_

_With a nod, she scooted closer to him, pulling his body over hers like a blanket. "I know I want to wait until I can afford a place to live," she told him. "Until I find another job and everything." _

_"We'll go apartment shopping next time I'm in town. I'll pay the first moth's rent and the security deposit for you," he offered, trying his best to clear every obstacle she could throw his way. _

_But Meredith shook her head. Her mother had always told her she was too independent for her own good, but she wasn't about to let him pay for her new apartment. It was bad enough that Daniel had insisted on paying for every vacation and major purchase they'd made over the last eight years. It had already caused enough problems in her marriage. She wasn't about to start another relationship on the same foot._

_"I'll pay for it," she reiterated. _

_He sighed happily as she ran her foot up the back of his leg beneath the covers. The fire was dancing over her face and the way she bit her lip as she considered whatever issue she was going to throw out next only made him want to kiss her that much more. "What is it now?" he asked with a slight chuckle of amusement._

_"What if it doesn't work?"_

_Her voice was so small, so scared, that he couldn't help rolling back over and pulling her body on top of his. Hugging her tightly, he kissed her shoulder and then her neck. "What if it does?" he whispered just before taking her ear lobe in his mouth and sucking it slowly._

_With another moan, she surrendered fully to his suggestive fingers and lips. _

"What if it doesn't work?" she asked suddenly, voicing the concern that had haunted her for weeks now.

She was watching television, dressed only in a pair of black boy shorts and a zebra print tank top. Her thick hair was piled on top of her head in a bouncing ponytail and her eyes were that of a terrified, caged animal.

Dave looked over from his end of the couch and shook his head, pointing back to the television. "Honey, you've waited for three months to see if she chooses the vet or McDreamy," he reminded. "You're gonna miss it if you don't pay attention."

Sighing, Meredith looked at the television and shook her head. The only reason she had even started watching the damn show was because someone at work told her that she absolutely had to see it. Now watching some bitch named Meredith choose between her married lover and the guy that seemed absolutely perfect for her wasn't nearly as entertaining as it had been a few months ago.

"There's no right choice," she shook her head and turned to look at him. "She's gonna hurt either way."

Dave nodded and sat the remote between them on the couch. "Probably. But it's because she's an indecisive, self-pitying, whiney ass," he explained. "Not because there's no right decision to be made."

Meredith couldn't help smiling at his description. Since he usually hit the road for the weekends, they spent many a Thursday night together, watching Grey's Anatomy while Dave rolled his eyes and pretended that he couldn't stand the soap opera-ish plot. Yet, she found it interesting that he always seemed to have an opinion on every storyline. Opinions he was always ready to argue with his girlfriend at a moment's notice.

"What?" he asked when she crawled toward him on the couch and settled under his arm. "What are you smilin' at?"

"You," she answered, placing a soft kiss on his chin before resting her head against his shoulder. "I'm smiling at you." Whether she was telling him, or herself, she wasn't sure, but she knew that being here with him felt right.

Dave nodded and kissed the side of her head. "I have to tell you something," he said with a sigh, his hand moving up and down the bare expanse of her back. "I have a meeting with your husband tomorrow afternoon."


	4. Chapter 4

The usually humid Tampa air was beginning to chill with the upcoming winter, and Dave shivered slightly as he stepped out of his car in front of the downtown office complex. He quickly surveyed his reflection in the side of the car and straightened the lapels of his pinstriped suit, pushing his Gucci shades up on his nose.

It wouldn't be the first time he had spoken with Daniel Casey.

_Surveying the crowded pizzeria, Meredith knew that she should be overwhelmed with joy. The whole family was assembled, taking over the back half of the restaurant, for Daniel's grandson, Jack's, eighth birthday. Whether it was a swanky hotel ballroom or a kid-themed pizza joint, the Casey family made every get-together an event._

_Daniel's youngest daughter, 21-year-old Isabella, shared giggles and furtive glances with her new husband. Her mother, Daniel's ex-wife, Eileen, stood behind them, cradling their newborn son._

_The oldest Casey heir, 27-year-old Jaden, draped his arm around his wife's chair, their daughter, Emma, nearly crawling over the table to help the birthday boy rip his gifts open. "Come on, Jack. You're so slow!" When her brother swatted her hand away, she pouted. "Grandpa! Jack's bein' a meany head!"_

_From his end of the table, Daniel opened his arms, inviting his unofficial favorite grandchild into his embrace. "You're so spoiled, Emma Jean," his 24-year-old daughter, Kaelynn, laughed at her neice as she buried her face in her grandfather's shoulder._

_Being a part of a big family had always been her dream, but tonight, she just wasn't in the mood to party with the grandkids. She wanted to be at Noku, the hottest new sushi bar in Tampa. He had promised to take her, but it had taken an immediate back seat to Jack's pizza birthday blowout._

_"I'll be right back," she whispered to Daniel, excusing herself from the table and making her way to the bathroom._

_"Dad, this is boring," Dave's 14-year-old daughter, Rebekah, whined. "You always pick the lamest places to hang out."_

_Though he ignored the whining tantrum, what seemed like her tenth of the last hour, he couldn't help feeling a little hurt by her words. He was a tough guy, and the world thought he was pretty cool. Even though he understood that no teenage girl ever thought their dad was anything but incredibly dorky, it didn't make him feel any better._

_"Shut up and eat your pizza, Rebekah," his wife, Krista, snapped._

_He was thinking the same thing, but hearing it out loud, especially from the girl's mother, was more than he could handle. "Krista," he started, when a movement caught his attention. "Watch your tone," he mumbled, stuffing a tomato from his salad into his mouth._

_Dave followed her every move as she walked quickly toward the restrooms. He had noticed her immediately upon walking in the front door, but kept his distance. She was with her family, he was with his. It wouldn't be appropriate._

_"Don't tell me to watch my tone," Krista started, dropping her pizza to give her husband a piece of her mind. If he thought he was going to flounce into their lives once every couple of weeks and just tell her what to do, he had another thing coming. "You don't have to listen to this all day, every day."_

_"Uh huh," he nodded, pushing away from the table without explanation. Even if he wasn't overwhelmed with the urge to pull his girlfriend outside and kiss her all over, he had to get away from the sound of his wife's voice. He was afraid that he would suffocate her in her sleep if he didn't take a walk._

_Meredith stepped out of the bathroom, watching her feet as she allowed the door to shut with a bang. And she ran smack into a brick wall that smelled exactly like, "Dave," she smiled brightly, her eyes meeting his and causing her heart to jump. "What are you doing here?"_

_He reached for her hand and then laughed uncomfortably. "Sorry," he mumbled._

_Tucking one hand into the pocket of her jeans she rubbed the other over her neck. Otherwise, she would be far too tempted to throw her arms and legs around him. "So," she said, smiling even brighter at the slight blush that was creeping into his cheeks. "You cravin' some pizza or what?"_

_"Nah," Dave shook his head, feeling not at all unlike a member of the high school AV squad talking to the head cheerleader all of the sudden. "Family night," he nodded toward the dining room._

_Meredith was stealth, taking a quick glance around, laying eyes on the three women looking miserable in the corner. "Ah. Looks like fun."_

_He nodded, casting a look at her area of the restaurant. "It's no "Hey, you're 8" party, but it's," he shrugged and then rolled his eyes. "It's hell," he admitted. "I'd rather be at Noku with you," he whispered._

_Now it was Meredith's turn to blush. "I was just thinking that," she said, caught in his stare again. "Maybe we could," she started._

_"Meredith," Daniel's voice sounded as he sidled up to his wife and put a hand on the small of her back. "I was wondering if you were feeling alright," he smiled, kissing the side of her head. "Who's your friend?"_

_Dave extended his hand and cleared his throat. "Dave Batista," he introduced himself._

_"Well, it is very nice to meet you. How do you know my wife, Mr. Batista?" _

_Unsure if he was just being paranoid, or if there was a tinge of jealousy in the way he over-pronounced the word "wife," Dave searched his brain for how to explain his conversation with Meredith. They had never discussed how they would explain their relationship to outsiders. Mostly because they had never anticipated a need to._

_"He doesn't," Meredith jumped in. She wrapped her arm around Daniel and smiled up into his eyes. "I just ran into him coming out of the bathroom. He was graciously listening to my apology."_

_Shaking his head, Daniel looked down on the young woman under his arm. "You have to stop looking at your feet when you walk, Sweetheart."_

The way Daniel addressed Meredith as though she were another one of his children irritated the hell out of Dave, but he had never said anything about it. It wasn't his place to make commentary on their relationship. That was one thing that they had always promised. They would listen, and offer advice if asked, but they would never disrespect or slander the other's spouse.

The reception area of the office was buzzing with activity and Dave just hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long. Daniel had called him earlier in the week, informing him that one of his clients was interested in purchasing some real estate Dave still owned in the DC area. Though he suspected it was a thinly veiled excuse, he had no concrete reason to believe that Daniel knew anything about his affair with Meredith.

Much to his surprise, he was immediately directed to the top floor and told that Mr. Casey had been awaiting his arrival. He checked his watch. He had a flight leaving for Oklahoma in six hours and he was hoping to be able to swing by Meredith's place on the way out of town. If all Daniel wanted was his home in DC, he would sign on the dotted line, no questions asked, and be on his way.

The elevator doors were about to close when a manicured hand slid between them and pushed them open. Stepping inside, Meredith ran her hands over the tailored pant suit and checked her hair in the mirrored wall. "Hey," she smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Dave asked, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

She slid her hand into his and slung her hair over her shoulder. "I work here," she reminded him. "And I thought you might need some moral support."

Dave cleared his throat and dropped his girlfriend's hand. "You don't even know if he knows. But I'm pretty sure that you bein' here might tip him off."

"He's going to find out soon enough," she reminded him. "I'm meeting with the divorce lawyer Monday morning."

Turning to face her, Dave couldn't keep the shock from his face. Krista had already filed their papers, and as soon as they worked out the custody issues, he was going to sign off. He knew that Meredith would be filing soon, but he hadn't expected it to be a week after moving out, before she had even talked to Daniel.

"What's that look for?" she asked. When she had made the appointment, she was sure that he would jump up and down. He should have been doing cartwheels. They had agreed that they would keep separate houses until the divorces were final, so she had naturally assumed that he would want that to be sooner, rather than later.

Dave shook his head and rubbed his chin, his wedding band blatantly absent. "Just caught me off guard," he said, pushing his concerns out of his mind. "If you wanna push it off until Wednesday, I can go with you," he offered.

But Meredith shook her head and grabbed his hand again. "I need to do it myself," she assured him, squeezing his hand and giving him another glowing smile. Even in her heels, she was nearly six inches shorter than he was, so she had to stand on her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips. "Tell me it's gonna be okay," she whispered.

All of his defenses crumbled at the sound of her broken voice in his ear. For all of the bluster she blew about being independent, the cracks still showed sometimes. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed the top of her hair and felt her warm cheek through his dress shirt. "It's gonna be better than okay, kasint'ahan." He pulled back as 'ding' signalled their arrival on the top floor. "I love you," he whispered, letting go of her as the doors opened.

"Mrs. Casey!" Daniel's secretary squeeled happily as Meredith stepped off of the elevator first.

She moved to the desk and leaned forward, taking the young woman's left hand. "What is this, Bethany?"

"Got it last night. You like?" She beamed like only a woman in love could. "It was so romantic!"

Before the young woman could launch into her story, a throat cleared. "Meredith."

She stopped smiling immediately and turned. "Daniel," she said, her voice low and reverent.

"Mr. Batista," Daniel moved past his wife and shook hands with the man standing behind her. "Join me in my office please," he invited.

Dave nodded and followed. At the door, Daniel turned back. "Meredith, why don't you join us, Darling?"

She swallowed her nerves and moved slowly, like a child headed for the worst kind of punishment. Dave stepped to the side and allowed his girlfriend to enter first. When he crossed the threshold, his heart felt as though it had stopped in his chest.

There was a small conference table in the office, where Daniel lowered himself to the seat next to the petite brunette woman sipping slowly from a china cup of coffee. "It's nice to finally meet you, Meredith," the woman smiled.

Without answering, he pulled Meredith's seat out for her and waited for her to sit. When Dave had unbuttoned his jacket and lowered his hulking form into the remaining chair, Meredith looked at the woman. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?" she asked.

"You two haven't met?" Daniel asked, feigning shock with a sickening sarcasm.

Meredith looked to her husband, and then to the woman at his side. She turned when she felt Dave's hand on the back of her chair. "Krista?" she asked.

Dave just nodded and tapped his fingers against the top of the table. Of all the things he had expected, this wasn't on the list. He wasn't sure what Daniel was trying to pull, but he knew that it wasn't going to end well.


	5. Chapter 5

Meredith knew that she would have to explain herself to Daniel at some point. She had always assumed it would be in his home or her lawyer's office. The fact that he had chosen to ambush her in such a fashion did not sit well with the firey red head. The guilt that she had been feeling melted away as she saw the malicious glimmer in his cold, blue eyes.

"What is going on here?" she finally asked, shaking her head to regain some sense of stability.

Krista looked at her with a raised eyebrow and sipped from her cup again. "So this is what you left me for?" she asked Dave, her nose turning up slightly at the notion. "You already have two daughters," she scofed. "Did you really need another?"

"Krista," Dave said, his voice low and controlled. "I know it's a lot to ask, but if you could just try to act like an adult for a few minutes, maybe we could talk about this."

Clearing his throat, Daniel opened a folder and looked straight into Dave's eyes. He had yet to look at his wife, not since inviting her into the room. It was as if he wasn't even aware she was there. "I asked you here today because I am interested in the land you own in Annapolis, Mr. Batista. One of my clients is looking to cultivate a community of condominiums in that area and yours is the last privately owned residence in the area."

Dave shrugged and refused to flinch. Sure, Daniel was tall, and appeared to be rather muscular beneath his expensive suit. But he had more than ten years on Dave, and was nowhere near as broad. "We both know that transaction could have been made over the phone and through the mail, Mr. Casey," he said. "Clearly, you called me here for a far more personal reason."

Though no one else would recognize it, Meredith saw a flash of appreciation in Daniel's eyes when Dave skipped the small talk and cut straight to the heart of the matter. He had never been one for chit-chat himself, and being in the presence of someone who felt the same way seemed to impress him.

"As my wife can tell you, we do extensive research into all of our clients, be they buyers or sellers. That includes credit checks, thorough examinations of other properties purchased or sold, employment histories, and criminal background checks." He looked over the first page of the file and then back at Dave. "You purchased a condominium six weeks ago," he said. "Is it a coincidence, Mr. Batista, that my wife also bought one in that community the day after?"

Meredith crossed her arms and sank back in her chair, biting her tongue. Dave could hold his own. He didn't need her help.

_"Dave, man, can we talk for a minute?"_

_Rolling his neck and trying his best to shake the tension out of his shoulders, Dave didn't bother smiling at his friend and former mentor, Hunter. "I'm kinda busy now. Can we do this some other time?" he asked, tightening his grip on Meredith's hand._

_She looked up and down the empty halls of the hotel they were sharing for the evening. It had seemed like a gift from the gods when Daniel had sent her to South Carolina for a conference the same week that Dave was going to be there for a Supershow. _

_It had been her first taste of the WWE inner-workings, and she was impressed, to say the least. While the atmosphere backstage had been hectic, the chaos was organized. Nobody seemed to question where they should be or what they were supposed to be doing. A place for everything and everything in it's place. _

_But what had started as a dream meeting with her secret lover quickly turned sour as word got around that Dave had a woman visiting, a married woman who wasn't his wife. Apparently, infidelity in the industry was only okay as long as no one had to see it, or acknowledge it._

_By the time they finally arrived back at the hotel, Meredith was ready to either go home crying, or start a girl fight with one of the gossiping bitches his company called divas. The guilt she was feeling was nothing compared to the sense of indignation that their glances and whispers brought._

_Dave wasn't faring much better. He didn't know too many guys who had managed to stay faithful to their wives while traveling. To be honest, he was a little surprised he had managed for as long as he had. To watch a select few shake their heads in disappointment after seeing him with Meredith confused him. And it stung his pride._

_"Look, you know what you do behind closed doors is your own business," Hunter reminded his friend. "But when you flaunt it around, if the fans catch wind," he warned, shaking his head and smiling at Meredith as if to let her know it was nothing personal._

_She began to speak, but Dave just squeezed her hand again and shook his head. She wanted to tell him to go to hell, too, but he was clearly in the mood to fight both of them at one time._

_"I've never known you to give the first crap about what fans think, Hunter," he scoffed._

_Just as his character on television was perpetually unaffected, Hunter Helmsley shrugged the accusation off and patted his friend's shoulder. "You're absolutely right," he nodded. "But ya know who does give a crap?"_

_"Hunter, if this is going to be one of those 'everything you do outside the ring affects your future inside the ring' speeches, you can just save it, okay? I don't need it. I've heard it ten thousand times and I have towed the company line in every way imaginable. I've made mistakes, and I've apologized when I didn't really think I should have to," he shook his head and pulled Meredith closer to his side. With his arm around her waist, he gave his friend another glare. "I'm not doing it in this time."_

_Hunter just shook his head, a worried look in his hardened gaze. He looked Meredith over critically and then rested his hand in the pocket of his dress pants. "Personally? I'm happy for you, man. I really am. I've seen you unhappy, and it's kind of nice to see the other side of that," he smiled at Meredith again, but the grin was gone as soon as it had appeared. "But my influence can only help you so much."_

_Dave shook his head and nudged Meredith to head toward the room. "I'm not asking for your help," he said, following his girlfriend._

Dave shook his head, still staring Daniel down, answering his question without hesitation. "We all know it's not a coincidence, Mr. Casey. Listen, I'm fascinated with the way you've put all these pieces together. I'm actually kind of impressed with the lengths you've gone to in constructing the truth." Taking his hand from Meredith's thigh, he leaned forward on the table and folded his fingers together. "It's also incredibly sad," he said.

Daniel laughed slightly. "What's sad? That you got caught?"

But Dave wasn't joking. In fact, he was moving quickly toward irritation, which meant that a burst of uncharacteristic anger wasn't far behind. Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, he calmed himself by thinking over the four truths of Buddhism, a practice that had kept him more grounded as of late.

"What I find sad is that you obviously have every capability at your fingertips. You can find information about anyone at the snap of your fingers, and yet you failed to notice that your own marriage was falling apart."

Meredith wanted to throw her arms around him in that moment. He had never been as sexy as he was then, and it was taking everything in her body to keep her in the chair. It took every every muscle in her face just to keep the wide smile from her lips. He was so calm, so collected.

Though Daniel opened his mouth to speak, it was Krista who made her voice heard. "So since your marriage was miserable," she spoke to Meredith, "you decided that it would be okay to destroy mine?"

For a moment, Meredith was stunned. Was she kidding? "My relationship with Dave had nothing to do with you," she said, trying her best to mimic Dave's serenity. Though she had always resented the idea that red-heads were more easily excitable than other women, there were instances she had to admit she proved the old saying.

"He's MY husband!" Krista exclaimed, her voice raising in protest. "Anything you did with him had to do with me! Every time you touched him and kissed him and fu-"

"Mrs. Batista," Daniel stuck his arm out to keep the woman at his side in her chair. "Would you like some more tea?"

Dave almost laughed out loud. Krista may have displayed childish behavior, but Daniel was sadly mistaken if he thought he could give her a bottle and pacify her. And while he didn't laugh, he couldn't fight the smirk that teased the corner of his lips.

"You think this is funny, Dave?" she turned to her husband and slammed a closed fist onto the table. "We'll see who's laughing when your daughters find out their father is a womanizing cheater!"

The fire ignited in his eyes and he raised himself from the table, clenching his fists at his sides. "I would love to stick around and watch your glass house shatter, Krista, but I have a plane to catch in a few hours. I need to go earn some more money for you to suck out of my account."

Meredith stood at his side and watched as Dave took the folder from the table, flipping through the information until he found the contract for his DC property. She smiled when he signed it and handed the folder back to Daniel.

"In regaurds to our business relationship, Mr. Casey, I would appreciate it if you would allow your assistant to handle any further correspondence. As far as I'm concerned, we have no personal business to discuss. Any questions you have in regaurds to this situation," he looked around the table and back to Daniel, "you can direct toward your wife. In private." He took Meredith's hand and motioned for the door.

When they were in the hall, Meredith couldn't contain her smile any longer. "You were amazing in there," she groaned, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Though it took all of the restraint he had, Dave peeled her arms away and shook his head. "Just because they're acting out, it doesn't mean that they're wrong, Meredith. Their reaction doesn't justify our actions."

His sudden change in mood surprised her. Normally, she was the one wallowing in her former Catholic schoolgirl guilt. He was always the one that told her that they needed to do what they had done, that it was ultimately the right thing. Now he was pulling back like they had something to be ashamed of, like they should hang their heads and pin on their scarlet letters.

"Dave, what?" Meredith started.

But she barely got a word out before Daniel's office door slammed and Krista descended upon them, her arms crossed and her face red with anger. "You cannot just walk away from this, David," she hissed, keeping her voice low enough not to be heard by anyone but the pair before her. They could scream until they lost their voices at home, but even she knew not to cause a scene in public.

"If I don't walk away, Krista, we'll both be sorry," he informed his wife, stepping between she and his girlfriend. "Anything we have left to discuss can be done through our lawyers."

She shrugged and shook her head. "So that's it? You're just gonna hide from me behind your lawyer, and from him," she pointed to Daniel's office door, "behind your girlfriend? And then you get to walk away like the big, strapping hero everyone seems to think you are?" Gritting her teeth, she shook her head. "Oh, I hope you two make each other very miserable," she hissed.

Dave just shook his head as he watched her walk toward the elevator. Weaving his fingers through Meredith's, he started for the elevator. "Your place or mine?"

She would have an entire weekend to sort through what she was going to tell Daniel. She would have months to deal with whatever Krista had up her sleeve for Dave. But she only had a few hours until he was gone for another four days. Smiling up at him, she wrapped her free arm around his bicep and then rested her head against his shoulder. "Doesn't really matter."


	6. Chapter 6

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: I just wanted to say thanks for the awesome reviews. I'm so glad to know you guys are reading this and enjoying it. I feel like I'm returning to a place with my writing that I haven't really accomplished since "Stripped." **

**I don't normally make a lot of recommendations because I figure people know what they like and they'll find the stories that appeal to them. But there are a couple of works that I'm just loving right now, and since they've both been kind enough to read and review this story, I think it's only right that I throw a little positive press their way, as well.**

**Disco Inferno 1's story "Still Shot" is just pure brilliance. Gin seriously inspires me and I know you'll love that piece if you give it a chance. Also, if you're a Randy Orton fan, you have to check out a story called "Help Me Help You" by cenasgrl. Kim analyzes the Orton suspension with such insight, and then weaves a beautiful love story in the midst of it. I can promise you won't be disappointed by either of these stories. **

**Alright - I'm done marking. On to the story - Enjoy!**

Surprises were always better when the surprisee didn't know they were coming. Meredith had come to that decision on the eve of her wedding, when Daniel had kidnapped her and taken her for a lovely, blindfolded joy ride around the city. She knew that something wonderful would be waiting on the other side of the journey, but she hated waiting for it.

Once they had stopped and he had removed the blindfold, she had leaned heavily against his shoulder in the fear that she would pass out. The house was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It hadn't even occured to her at the time that she would be living there. It didn't actually occur to her that anyone could live there.

With it's majestic columns and brick facade, it was just too perfect for anyone to mess it all up by living inside. She was sure that having any car, even one of Daniel's sports cars, parked in the driveway would diminish it's value. And God forbid they should have children. Toys and animals thrashing through the grass would be a shame.

She had felt like a princess that night, holding her Prince Charming and gazing at their beautiful castle. Now, dressed in ratty jeans and a Rolling Stones tank top, she clutched her messenger bag and felt like the struggling college kid she had been back then.

A weekend without Dave had given her plenty of time to clear her head, and for the guilt to settle back into every fiber of her being. Daniel deserved better than she had given him as of late, and she couldn't, in good conscience, go to her lawyer before she talked to him. Maybe he would hear her this time.

Knowing that there was a good chance he would change the gate code and demand that the guards not let her onto his property, she was pleasantly surprised to find that everything was exactly as she had left it. The nauseous feeling she'd had when she left the house was quickly returning, however, and she was ready to bolt when she saw him pull the front curtains back.

_Here goes nothin', _she thought, biting her lip and moving toward the front door, which he opened before she could knock. "Hi," she smiled shyly, offering a small wave before returning her hand to the bag on her hip.

"Come in, Meredith," he invited, stepping aside as his wife moved beyond the threshold. He was wearing khakis and a light blue polo shirt, his crystal eyes accentuated by the hue but filled with a sadness she hadn't expected.

Two days earlier, in his office, he had been malicious and clearly angry. She had every reason to believe that he would still be feeling that way on Sunday afternoon. But he didn't look angry at all. He looked broken. And old.

"Can I get you something to drink, Dear?" he asked.

Meredith shook her head and turned back to him, her mind blank. She had prepped herself for a fight. She had considered every possible argument that he could throw at her, and she had found a way to counter each of them. She hadn't prepared to see him looking hurt.

"Let's go into the living room," he suggested, leading the way through the house she knew so well.

It was all the same, completely unchanged. Not that she thought he would redecorate in a week, but the pictures of them together, the vases and other sculptures she had purchased, were all still in place. It was as if she had never left. How was it possible that she had only been gone a week?

When they were seated on opposite ends of the couch, Meredith let go of her bag and folded her hands in her lap, her eyes fixed on the picture window overlooking the pool. Tears were pricking the back of her eyes and she knew she wouldn't be able to fight them for much longer.

Daniel opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, raising a tumbler of scotch to his lips and swallowing while gathering his thoughts. "What happened?" was all he asked when he finally found his voice.

The simplicity of his question, and the brokenness of his voice, caused her tears to break through, coursing down her cheeks as she continued to stare at the floor. "We were too different," she whispered.

Daniel shook his head. "You once told me that our differences complimented each other nicely," he reminded her.

He wasn't wrong. She had believed it at one time. Back when their love was young and their lives were still a fairy tale. "They did," she admitted. "Sometimes," she sniffled slightly and wiped a tear, still refusing to meet his eye. "People change."

Both sat in silence, grappling for the appropriate something to fill the gaps in the conversation. There had been a time when they had been able to stay up all night, talking about philosophy, politics, and life. Now they couldn't find three words.

"I don't even know what to say," he chuckled cynically. "I don't know what I'm supposed to feel." Turning his face to hers, he stared until she raised her head. "What are you feeling?"

When she met his eye, another torrent of emotion surged through her body. "Guilt," she admitted. "I'm feeling like you deserve a million apologies and I can't think of one that would be sufficient."

"I don't want an apology," he told her. "I don't really need an explanation." He ran a hand over the top of his head. "I just wanna know if we can fix this. Was this just a warning shot? Some cry for attention?"

In a moment, she seemed to remember everything that had led her to Dave's bed in the first place. "When was the last time we went to a movie, Daniel?" He stared at her in blank confusion. "Or a concert?"

"You left me because we haven't been to a movie in awhile?" he asked, the scoff evident in his voice as he grasped for some sort of meaning in her questions.

But Meredith only ran her fingers through her hair again and turned her body toward him. With her legs crossed, she twisted her fingers together and bit her lip, trying to think of just how to explain herself. "It's not about movies, Daniel. It's about the fact that we went to symphonies and the theater and travelling exhibits of classic art.

"We always had fun together, Daniel, but those were your things. Those were the things that you wanted to do, and I did them because I loved seeing you happy. I loved seeing you enjoying your life. Even when I would have rather been at a Green Day concert, or a Vince Vaughn movie, or a modern art gallery opening, I put it aside and went to your things."

"You never asked me to take you to Green Day," he answered, his voice speaking the words as if they were in a foreign language.

Narrowing her eyes, she asked pointedly, "Would you have taken me?"

He sighed and shook his head. "You know that it's important for us to represent the company, and our family, at the premier events around town." Meredith shook her sadly, prompting Daniel to turn and mimic her pose, leaning against the arm of the couch behind him. "If it had meant that much to you, Mer, you know I could have had Kaelynn take you. She has very similar tastes in popular culture."

She wanted to reach across the couch and shake him. It wasn't about the concerts. It wasn't about movies or any other event. "It wasn't about finding someone to take me. I have friends, Daniel. It was about doing things together that had nothing to do with the company or the family's good name. I wanted it to be about us, about sharing what made us happy."

He was trying to understand where she was coming from, but at the moment, all he could see was a childish temper tantrum, the kind he never tolerated from his own children, let alone his wife. "Meredith, you are almost thirty years old. You're not a design student in college anymore. At some point, darling, your interests should begin to mature."

It would have stung less if he had just slapped her in the face. "I may only be slightly older than your children, Daniel, but I'm not one of them. I'm your wife."

"I realize that," he interrupted.

But she held up a hand. She was tired of being talked over and down to. She was tired of being treated like a mindless three-year-old. "Do you? Because you treat me like one of them. I don't need you to guide my decisions, I need you to stand behind them."

It wasn't the first time he had heard the argument from her, but he had always managed to find a compromise that would put a smile on her beautiful lips by the end of the argument. In all honesty, he believed this would be one of those moments as well.

"Sweetheart," he smiled, moving closer to her and rested his warm hand on her ankle. "You're absolutely right," he conceded. "I have been selfish. I should have paid more attention to your needs." With a sigh, he worked his fingers under the frayed hem of her jeans, rubbing her smooth skin gently. "I realize that now."

The simple touch made her heart quicken. Dave had done amazing things to her body over the course of their relationship, but there was still something in the gentle prodding of her husband that liquified any hard feelings and set her gut on fire. She reached to cover his hand with hers on instinct, sighing longingly.

"Come home to me, Mer Bear," he invited in a whisper. "You deserve a stable home with a man who worships you."

Unfortunately, her brain wasn't melting right along with the rest of her body. The words he spoke stuck in her brain and resonated deep to her core. With painful realization, she met his eyes again. "That's why you invited Krista to that meeting yesterday," she said, not a question in her voice.

Daniel feigned confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You wanted me to hear the fighting. To see how he treats his wife. To scare me back home." Though he huffed, she carefully pried his hand from her leg and placed her feet back on the floor. "That was it, wasn't it?"

Clearing his throat, Daniel nodded. No man revelled in having his imperfections illuminated. The best way he knew to counter that exposure was to shine a light on others around him. If Meredith wanted to point fingers, she could start with the man with whom she was now sharing her bed.

"How well do you really know this man, Meredith? The one that you seem to think is your savior from the hell of our marriage?" He stood and grabbed his drink from the end table, slamming the rest of it back. She could leave if she wanted, but he'd be damned if he was going to lose her to a muscle-bound thug.

She stood as well, hands on her hips. Who the hell did he think he was? "I realize that I hurt you, Daniel, and I'm sorry for that. I can never justify what I have done, and I'm not going to try to. I didn't set out to fall in love with someone else, but I did," she admitted, knowing that hearing the words would sting him. "I don't know what's going to happen with Dave and I from here on out. I don't know where we're going to end up," she shrugged. "But I know that whatever happens, it's my business."

"Regardless of the hurt that you've caused me, Meredith, I don't wish the same on you. If I didn't care, I wouldn't say anything," he sighed.

But she saw through the front. What had seemed like a sincere effort to preserve everything they had built together was quickly being revealed as a ploy to avoid his own perception of failure. His friends had warned him, as has his family. To watch her prove them right was to admit that he had been wrong. Daniel Casey never admitted defeat.

She said nothing as he turned and walked through the double glass doors leading to his office. When he returned, the same red folder he'd had in their previous meeting was clutched in his left hand. "My research of your boyfriend was extensive, Meredith. I think you might be interested at the findings contained in this folder."

If there was one thing she knew about Daniel, it was that he wouldn't give up as long as he thought he was right. She took the folder, only because she knew that he would follow her to the car if she didn't, and slipped it into her messenger bag. She could always burn it when she got home.

"You'll be hearing from my lawyer," she said coldly, slinging her bag over her shoulder and pushing her hair out of her face. She would process this day later. For now, she just wanted to get the hell out of the house.

"Meredith," he called after her when she was at the front door.

Turning, she saw him leaning in the doorway. Though the afternoon had taken an ugly turn, there was a sadness in both sets of eyes. No matter what happened between them, however things shook down with the divorce proceedings, the time they had shared had not been all bad. Nothing he said or did now was going to change the fact that they had shaped and molded each other's lives for nearly a decade. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice low but clear.

He nodded. "I know you are." Rubbing his forehead with his hand, his platinum wedding band sparkled in the afternoon light. "Maybe someday," he responded.

But Meredith shook her head. "Don't," she offered him a weak smile. "We both know it's over." He could make all of the promises in the world, but once his friends and colleagues found out that she had left him for another man, his pride wouldn't let him take her back.

Her cell phone rang as she directed her car out of the gated community that she would never again call home. Sniffling tears that seemed to spring out of nowhere, she answered. "Hey," she tried to smile.

"What happened?"

She was consumed with her own thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain it all to Dave, when a blaring horn drew her from her thoughts. "Shit!" she exclaimed, slamming on the brakes.

"What the hell was that?" Dave asked, his voice full of concern.

Shaking her head, Meredith said a silent prayer of thanks that she had avoiding the accident with nothing more than a middle finger from the other driver. Taking a moment to calm herself, she took a deep breath. "I'm fine," she mumbled, turning to gather the contents of her bag, which had fallen over the front seat in the commotion.

"You sure?" Dave asked with a slight chuckle, wishing more than anything that he could be there to rub her shoulders. Though he obviously couldn't see her shaking, the tremble in her voice was evident, and he hated hearing it.

She muttered an affirmation as she shoved a few cd's into the bag. Papers from the file Daniel had given her were strewn across the soft leather and the floor. She stuffed as many as she could into the bag and reached for the others with a grunt. "Can I call you back later?"

"Baby, are you sure you're alright?" Dave asked.

She concentrated on the document in her hand. "Yeah," she said, distractedly disconnecting the call. Though she had been determined to not even open the folder, she felt her stomach dropping to her toes.

Criminal background checks were part of the normal screening process with the company, so she wasn't surprised to find a few police reports in the file. Dave had told her about a few minor altercations with the law in his past. But he had never mentioned a domestic violence charge. Especially one that Krista had pressed only six weeks ago.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Scarlet Letter**

**Disclaimer: As this story develops, I am finding myself exploring areas that I never really intended to explore. For me, writing fiction that is realistic and honest, if not entirely flattering, is essential. So I'm just warning you that this chapter deals with the issue of domestic violence. While I'm not trying to excuse or condone abuse of any kind, I felt that this particular scene was important to the development of Dave's character. It is not my goal to offend anyone, and I hope that you can read this with an open mind. **

When he first started in the wrestling business, his trainers had warned their classes that only those who truly loved the lifestyle would make it for the long haul. It would demand absolute dedication of the mind, body, and spirit. Without all three, there was no chance for success.

In the beginning, Dave had been determined that he wouldn't be one of those guys who half-assed this career, who quit in the middle, or who lost the opportunity to live the WWE dream because of apathy.

But as he made his way back to the hotel after Monday night's house show, he wasn't sure he cared enough anymore. What had started as a great career had turned into an escape over the years. Though it was supposed to be the other way around, he found his professional life becoming his solace from the chaos of his personal life.

When Meredith entered his life, things began to change, though. He found himself longing for those moments when he could actually go back to Tampa, when he could fall into the arms of the one person who truly brought him serenity in the midst of his tumultous life. He had never meant to be a professional wrestler forever, he wasn't a lifer like Flair or Hogan, and he was finding himself longing for retirement more and more often.

He pushed into the hotel room, already dialing his phone. Ever since she had hung up on him yesterday, Dave hadn't been able to get ahold of his girlfriend and it was starting to scare him slightly. He knew she had been pretty shaken up, but he hadn't gone a day without talking to her since their second date.

As his phone began to ring, he heard a familiar song from the interior of the hotel suite. Walking into the room, he smiled at the sight awaiting him. "What are you doing here?"

Meredith looked up and then nodded to the police report on the table. She had tried to put it out of her mind. She had tried to ignore it, to tell herself that it was nothing and they could talk about it on Wednesday when he got home. But she couldn't get one interaction out of her head.

_Krista descended upon them, her arms crossed and her face red with anger. "You cannot just walk away from this, David," she hissed._

_"If I don't walk away, Krista, we'll both be sorry," he informed his wife._

Noting the stoic look on her face, Dave dropped his gym bag and took the papers from the table. He perused them, his heart dropping into his stomach. "You know there's an explanation for this, right?"

She nodded and put her whine glass on the table, leaning her elbows on her knees. "Oh, I was banking on it."

He laid the report back on the table and looked around the room. "You mind if I take a shower first?" Meredith shook her head and rubbed her hands over her face. "Give me ten minutes."

Sighing, she leaned back and hugged her arms around her body. She was sure that he would have a great explanation, but she wasn't sure she would buy it. The report itself was pretty damning, complete with a horrifying photo of hand-shaped bruises on Krista's thin arms and a golf ball-sized welt on the side of her head.

Of course, it was a game of he said/she said, but with Dave, that didn't amount to much. She had learned he was a man of very few words, and the report did little to discount that theory. When questioned by the police, he'd merely said that things had gotten out of hand and that he wanted to speak to a lawyer before explaining himself further.

Inside the bathroom, Dave wiped the steam from the mirror and watched the droplets of water falling from the ends of his dark hair. He could honestly say that he never thought this day would come. The case had been sealed, and he guessed not even Daniel could get ahold of the complete file. But it was over now. There was no need to alarm his girlfriend.

Stepping out of the bathroom in shorts and a tee shirt, Dave sighed and lowered himself to the couch beside Meredith, taking her hand in his. "I didn't put those bruises on her arms," he said, nodding toward the picture.

"And her head?" Meredith asked, unsure if she really wanted him touching her at the moment.

He turned his body toward hers and pulled his leg up under his body. "It was that weekend I came home after being gone for, like, two weeks, remember?" Meredith nodded. "I didn't get in until about two in the morning."

"I picked you up at the airport," she reminisced with him. "We went to Starbucks."

He could feel the tension in her hands as he rubbed her palm with his thumb. There was nothing he could say to make her feel better, but he knew that she deserved the truth. Releasing her hand, he leaned back and stretched his arm across the back of the seat. "It wasn't an accident," he admitted. "I wanted to kill her."

The cold admission made her draw back. Meredith watched the regret playing across Dave's face, the remorse in his dark eyes. He was staring at the floor, as if replaying the incident in his mind.

_His mind was filled with thoughts of Meredith. She had flown out to see him twice on the road during his extended travel dates. And when she had shown up at the airport, he knew he had never been happier to see anyone. The smell of her perfume seemed to waft in the air, even after she had dropped him off in front of the house. The feeling of her kisses lingered on his lips as he turned his key in the lock and stepped into the house._

_If he was lucky, Krista would already be asleep and he wouldn't have to deal with her until morning. His mother had warned him before he got married. "Son, physical attraction is not enough to sustain a relationship, especially a marriage." But he couldn't see beyond that moment, beyond the sensual beauty that she portrayed._

_When he was a struggling bouncer, dreaming of making it in body building or professional wrestling, she had been happy. When nobody knew Dave Batista from the bum on the corner begging for change, her life was good. But the moment he donned Leviathon's colored contact lenses and fangs, things began to change. He wasn't world reknowned, but he was asked for the occasional autograph at Krispy Kremes or the laundry mat. Breaking into the WWE only amplified her selfishness and jealousy._

_By the time her true nature began to show through, they already had two daughters, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to easily walk away. It started small enough, with a few fights over the amount of time he spent away from home and the amount of women that were throwing themselves at him. But as it escalated, he found himself wondering if he even wanted to fix it._

_Locking the door behind him, Dave sat his gym bag in the entry and noticed that the living room light was on. Krista sat on the couch, tears streaking her exotic face as she drank from a nearly-empty whine bottle. There were dark bruises on both of her biceps and she was rocking back and forth, sobs racking her shoulders._

_"What the hell happened?" Dave asked, immediately going to her side and wrapping his arms around his wife, all thoughts of Meredith and any other problems escaping him at the fragile sight._

_But Krista pushed him away and sneered, like a wounded animal. "Don't you touch me," he hissed. "This is your fault."_

_Drawing back, he raised his eyebrows in confusion and looked around the living room. The family pictures had been ripped from the mantle, glass littering the hearth where they had fallen. The coffee table had been tipped over. "Krista, what happened?" he asked._

_She shook her head and took another drink. "I got called out of a meeting today. She's been skipping classes for a month now. She's failing three of her classes. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was, sitting in that principal's office while he told me what a screw up my daughter was?"_

_Dave looked around, the confusion deepening. All of this had something to do with one of the girls? "Who?" he asked._

_"Who do you think?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Do you honestly believe that Eden could have done this?" she motioned to the bruises when referencing their ten-year-old._

_Dave reached out, his hand magnetically drawn to the bruises. When Krista jerked her arm away, he looked up. "Rebekah did this to you?" he asked skeptically. Sure, the fifteen-year-old had been known to talk back on occasion, but he didn't want to believe that she was capable of assaulting her own mother._

_Scoffing, Krista stood and dropped her whine bottle to the table. It teetered and fell to the floor, but she didn't seem to notice. "Would I make this up?" He didn't answer, which only further angered the woman in front of him. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you about this. You wouldn't know the first thing about her anyway."_

_Standing, he found himself needing to distance himself from her, even in her condition. How she managed to look beaten and defeated, and still make him want to inflict more pain was a feat in itself. Sometimes he thought it was her gift._

_"I came home from that horrendous meeting, and do you know what she was doing? She was making out with her boyfriend on the couch! She knows the rules. No boys in the house when I'm not here, but she decided that it would be okay. When I kicked him out, she started screaming."_

_Wouldn't know what that's like, Dave thought sarcastically. Instead, he held a hand up. "Just tell me how it got to this," he motioned to the carnage around him. _

_"She started bitching about how horrible I am and about how she can't blame you for not wanting to be home with me. She was throwing a childish tantrum, throwing pictures on the floor and saying she wished she could just be with you all the time."_

_It began to make sense to Dave in that instance. As much as Rebekah claimed to think he was lame, she had always been the most excited to see him come home. And it annoyed Krista to no end. She would tell anyone who would listen that she busted her ass to raise her girls right, even when their father was never home. But she was also quick to point out that they seemed to forget everything she did for them when Dave came home for a few days._

_Shaking her head, Krista continued her story. "She said she was leaving, that she couldn't stand to be around me, but I told her she wasn't going anywhere. That's when she grabbed my arms and started squeezing, telling me that she hated me."_

_Another round of tears found their way down her cheeks, and for a brief moment, Dave felt sorry for her. He hated it when the girls told him he wasn't as cool as everyone thought. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to hear them say they hated him. Krista might have had her bitchy moments, but she was still their mother._

_"I do the best I can, Dave, but I just can't," she started and then stopped, shaking her head. "I can't keep doing this."_

_He was trying to think of a response, staring at the floor beside the fireplace. A small red stain drew his attention. "Is that blood?" he asked, looking to his wife with a new fire in his eyes._

_"I don't know," she answered defiantly, but Dave barely heard. He was already down the hall. _

_It never occured to him that Rebekah could have cut herself on the glass from the picture frames. He immediately went to a worst case scenario as he burst through her bedroom door to find his eldest safe in her bed. Her back was to the door and he could see that her shoulders were shaking._

_Sitting on the edge of the bed, she flinched when he touched her. "Hey, Bekah Boo," he whispered, rubbing her back gently. "You awake?" She just nodded. "What happened?"_

_When she rolled over, Dave felt like he could vomit. Her right eye was swollen and her lip was cut. She looked as though she had gone three rounds in MMA, so far from his untouched baby girl. "I didn't mean to hurt her, Daddy," she whispered._

_Clinching his left hand into a fist, Dave continued rubbing Rebekah's arm. The last thing he wanted was to scare her more than she already was. "Can you tell me what happened, Kiddo?"_

_She sniffled and wiped her nose. "She came home all pissed off because she had to go to school. And I know I shouldn't have been skipping classes, but she didn't have to take it out on Brian. She was calling him all these names and telling him to get out of the house, and her face was so red," she explained, struggling to sit in the bed. "She told me I was a selfish bitch and that I was an embarrassment," she whispered. "I didn't mean to embarrass anybody."_

_He nodded, every fiber of his being aching to throw his wife across the room. If the young girl before him hadn't been shaking so violently, he would have done just that. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and rocked her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here."_

_Rebekah cried on her daddy's shoulder for a moment and then pulled back again. "I just wanted to get away from her. I was gonna go to Brian's, but she told me I couldn't. I didn't mean to hurt her. I just wanted her to move."_

_He kissed the side of her head and nodded, crushing her to his chest again. "It's okay, baby. Shh," he whispered. "I'm here now, okay?" They sat in silence for a long moment and Dave reflected on the fact that he was partly at fault. Had he not been with Meredith, if he had come straight home, maybe this could have been avoided._

_"Sweetheart, I need you to tell me what else happened, okay?" He didn't want to hear it. He knew that her answer would only drive him to the one thing he had been working so hard to avoid. He would snap, but he had to know._

_She sniffled and fought to compose herself. "She pushed me to make me stop squeezing her arms. And then she smacked me," she instinctively rubbed her fingers over her lip. "Her ring," she explained, her brown eyes wide as she stared at her father, as if begging him to believe her. _

_His heart was racing at the thought of his wife laying a hand on his daughter. They had agreed that spanking the girls when they were younger was acceptable, as long is it was done in the right way. And they had agreed that they would never administer any discipline when they were angry. And she had broken the promise. As far as Dave was concerned, all bets were off._

_He placed a soft kiss on the bruise on her swollen eye lid. "Alright, listen," he said, thinking quickly. If he didn't get out of the house, he was going to kill Krista, and he wasn't going to feel an ounce of guilt. "I want you to pack some clothes and your tooth brush, okay? We're gonna spend the night with John." Kissing her head again, he stood, pondering whether or not he should go to the police._

_For the first time, he wished that he was still living in DC. His mother would know what to do. As it stood, the only people he really knew in town were his fellow wrestlers, and most of them wouldn't be home. He hadn't seen John Cena in weeks, but running into him at a Supershow over the weekend, and discussing the fact that they finally had an off day at the same time, now seemed like an act of destiny._

_He dialed the phone and hoped for an answer. It was already 2:30, and there was no guarantee that his friend would even hear the phone. "Hey, it's Dave. . . Look, man, I'm sorry it's late, but I got a situation here. . . Yeah. You mind if Beckah and I crash with you tonight? . . . It's a long story. . . Thanks, man."_

_He turned and smiled as Rebekah debated what to pack. "I'm going to get your sister," he said._

_"She's not here," Rebekah told him. "She's spending the night with Kennedy." Krista's younger brother had a nine-year-old daughter. Eden and Kennedy were inseparable, and it wasn't unusual for his youngest daughter to spend a school night with her cousin._

_He would go to the police first thing in the morning. He was tempted to go immediately, but Rebekah's eyes were dark and heavy, and she needed to try to sleep. At the moment, he had to put his own emotions aside and think of her best interests. He could admit he hadn't been the world's most available dad, but he wasn't about to turn his back on her now._

_He was fishing his keys out of his pocket when Krista rose from the couch again and met them by the door. "Rebekah, Sweetheart," she whispered, a horrified look crossing her face when she saw the swelling in her daughter's young face. "I'm so sorry, baby."_

_"We'll talk about this tomorrow, Krista," Dave hissed through gritted teeth, the sight of her making his stomach churn._

_Ignoring her husband, Krista put her hands on Rebekah's shoulders and leaned closer to her. "You know I love you, right, Sweetie?"_

_He watched as Rebekah's young body trembled in fear. Stepping around her, he put a hand on Krista's shoulder and narrowed his eyes at her. "I said we'll talk about it tomorrow," he repeated slowly. "Move."_

_She turned a venomous gaze to her husband. "You weren't even here. Nothing that happens in this house is any of your business," she spat. "You don't get to be the hero."_

_Without thought, and without warning, he grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her to the floor as hard as he could. He knew it was wrong. He knew it was inexusable. But as he started the car and cast another glance at his beaten child, he couldn't seem to feel badly about what he had done. She had hit the ground with a thud, and he hadn't stuck around to make sure she was okay. He didn't care. He honestly hoped she was dead._

"She got the police before we did the next morning, but I lawyered up before anyone could really ask me anything." He looked back at her, wondering what the hell she could possibly be thinking of her at that moment. He knew what he thought of himself, but her opinion was much more important.

Meredith stared at the coffee table, a million questions swarming through her head. "That was the weekend you told me you were leaving her," she mumbled, turning to meet his eye.

Dave nodded and rubbed his chin before leaning back on the couch. "Krista dropped the charges before my lawyer got to the station. We all went home and they talked everything out. Nobody meant for it to go that far," he shook his head. "But I knew it was never going to be the same."

Meredith wasn't sure what she was feeling, but she knew she had never heard Dave talk so much. And while she didn't like everything he was saying, she respected his honesty, even though it didn't necessarily paint him in the most flattering light.

The action itself wasn't as important to her as the motivation behind it or his attitude in the aftermath. "Do you regret it?" she asked, picking at the bottom of her sock distractedly.

His silence spoke volumes as Dave considered how to answer the question. "I'm not proud of it," he answered finally. "It scares me to think that I'm capable of doing that kind of thing. But," he met her eye and held her gaze, "I'm not entirely sorry for it, either. I know the rules, Meredith. I know there's no reason to hit a woman, especially for a guy my size. But I was holding my daughter's hand and she was terrified, and I wasn't really seeing Krista as a woman. I was seeing her as the person who had hurt my kid. I reacted." He shook his head, his eyes filling with conflicted confusion. "And I can't say I wouldn't do it again, given the same circumstances."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Meredith asked, unsure of where the question had come from. It was as if none of her thoughts were connecting as she tried to make sense of the last few days.

He raised an eyebrow and exhaled a slow breath. "Didn't have anything to do with you, Meredith. Someday, I hope that my girls will be a part of your life, but at the moment, it was a family issue and it didn't concern you."

"You sure it wasn't just because you didn't wanna have this conversation?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and running her fingers through her hair and alleviating some of the tension between them.

Dave couldn't help smirking slightly. "That was part of it," he admitted. Taking her hand again, he lifted her palm to his lips and pressed a soft kiss there. "Look, I'm no saint, Meredith. I try to keep my cool because I know the damage I can cause." He shook his head, briefly thinking of an incident from his bouncing days. "Sometimes it gets away from me. That," he nodded at the police report, "is something you're going to have to decide if you can forgive. Because I can't take it back."

One thing she had always admired was the fact that Dave never made promises he knew he couldn't keep. He never promised that he would always be there for her, because he knew that his career made that impossible. He never promised that their life together would be easy, because he knew that their circumstances wouldn't allow it. And he never promised that they would be together forever, because their history proved that nothing could predict that.

Even now, she realized, he made no promises that he would never hurt her. He hadn't wept about his regret or vowed never to let his anger get the better of him. He had made his decisions, followed his emotions and his heart, and he readily excepted his consequences. Sure, he had done some bad things, but Meredith just couldn't bring herself to think that he was a bad person.

"Why don't you take the bed," Dave whispered, kissing her forehead as he stood from the couch. "I'll sleep out here. Give you some time to think."

Meredith stood and hitched her pants up on her hips before hooking her forefinger into the waistband of his shorts. "Dave," she whispered, pulling him to her. "Right now, I think I just want you to remind me how gentle you can be."


	8. Chapter 8

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: This chapter's a little shorter, and a little lighter, than the others in this story. In all honesty, I think we all needed a little reprieve from the drama so far. This is kinda my thanks for stickin' with me thus far. But don't worry - if you're a fan of the drama - it ain't over yet! Enjoy!**

**----------------**

His steady fingers danced lightly to a slow internal rhythm from the nape of her neck to the base of her spine, watching in amusement as tiny goosbumps stood at attention against her sleep-warmed skin. Trailing his left hand along her hip until it came to rest on the inside of her thigh, Dave took a deep breath and gently kissed her shoulder.

Allowing her eyes to flutter open, Meredith inhaled the scent of morning as the thick hotel curtains came into focus. It took her only a few seconds to remember where she was, and to melt under the feeling of Dave's lips on her neck. With a soft moan, she rolled onto her back and smiled up into his eyes. "What are you doin'?" she sighed.

He propped himself up on his elbow and swept his hand from her thigh, over her stomach, and in between the valley of her breasts. She was exquisite, and there were times when he wondered if he would ever be able to touch her enough. "I'm gonna kiss you," he warned, nodding toward the bathroom while his eyes never left her face. "So if you're gonna jump up and brush your teeth, the time is now."

Meredith giggled and rolled out of the bed, hugging herself to ward off the chill of the room as she rushed to the bathroom and kicked the door shut. She had already smelled the minty toothpaste on his breath, so she knew that he hadn't been up too long. These were her favorite moments, waking up with him, cuddling in the morning, discussing their plans for the day together. If they never had to leave the bed, she would be perfectly happy for the rest of her life.

Running her fingers through her tangled curls, Meredith wiped the sleep from the corners of her eyes and took one final glance over her body. In the wake of their emotional conversation, he had been everything she needed him to be. Their conversation was virtually non-existent as the couple allowed soft caresses to communicate for them. When Dave's fingers brushed against her most intimate places, Meredith's labored breathing was the only sound that filled the air. When her hand found its way under the covers, the sound of his breath hissing between his teeth provided their soundtrack.

She opened the bedroom door to find him lying on his back, his hands folded behind his head as he studied the pattern on the ceiling. She climbed onto the foot of the bed and crawled beside him, stopping at his waist to sling her leg over his. Straddling him, she smiled and raked her fingernails over his chisled chest. Opening her mouth, she breathed loudly. "Minty fresh."

Dave withdrew his hands from behind his head and grabbed her, pulling her flush against his chest and crushing his lips to hers. Probing the depths of her mouth with his tongue, he buried his fingers in her hair and held her to him, as though she were trying to escape.

Meredith grasped the sheets on either side of their bodies, hoping to keep herself anchored to the bed. His kisses took her to a place she had never really experienced before him. Her stomach fluttered, her body melted, and her head spun every time his lips closed over hers. And when his tongue glided against hers? Well, she couldn't think, let alone describe the sensations that ran through every part of her being.

Finally pulling away, Dave tucked the unruly strands of her hair behind her ears. "Morning, kasint'ahan," he whispered, smiling shyly.

"Mmm," she moaned, licking the taste of him from her lips. "Good morning," she sighed, resting her head on his chest. Her heart fluttered in her chest when he began running his hands up and down her back. "Dave," she mumbled into his hard chest.

"Hm?" he asked, distracted by the silky feeling of her skin beneath his fingers.

"I'm not going to the arena tonight." Though she had visited him a handful of times on the road, the awkward feeling she got every time she was around his coworkers was more than she wanted to deal with. Especially now that everyone would know they had ended their marriages for each other.

He nodded. There was no use in trying to convince her otherwise, he knew, so he wouldn't try. It would be enough knowing that she was going to be waiting for him when he got back to the hotel. When she was ready, he would introduce her as his girlfriend, but he couldn't really care less when she decided that was. He had never felt the need to flaunt his personal life. As long as he knew what was going on, what did it matter what anyone else thought?

A few more kisses led to more sensual touches. Meredith rocked against his stomach as Dave groped at her back side and ached for a release from the sweet torture. _This is how every day should start, _was the last cognitive thought Dave processed for the next hour.

-------------------------

Since they only had a three hour drive to the next city, Dave let Meredith drift into another deep sleep after their bodies had been satisfied. He dropped a kiss on her cheek and promised that he would be back from the gym in a couple of hours before leaving his sleeping girlfriend to her dreams.

It had been years since she had slept past nine o'clock, but Meredith found herself awaking to sunlight in her face at ten thirty. Dave was nowhere to be found, but she couldn't say she was upset about that. It had been an emotional week for her, and sometimes she found it hard to believe that only eight days had passed since she walked out of her old life and into this one.

There were so many uncertainties in her new life. Dave had seemed like the only sure thing before she left Daniel, but now she found her mind forming a thousand questions on a daily basis. Just because they left their spouses and decided to be together, it didn't ensure that they would stay that way. And if the saying "Once a cheater, always a cheater," was true, then they neither of them could really be trusted.

After a long, hot shower, Meredith draped herself in one of Dave's dress shirts and set about getting ready for the day. She hoped to be ready by the time he got home. Maybe they could get on the road early. Spending a day road-tripping together, just enjoying each other's company, seemed like the perfect way to put her mind at ease.

Dave finally returned around eleven and promptly announced that he needed a shower, a fact that his body odor announced without the aid of his words. Meredith told him to hurry so they could get on the road, but she couldn't shake the fact something was going to go horribly wrong before she headed home the next day.

When her hair was finally dried, she piled most of it on the top of her head and began the rigorous process of flat-ironing. It would take an hour, at best, without humidity and interruptions.

_Enter interruption_, she smiled as Dave opened the bathroom door, a white towel wrapped around his waist, but barely managing to close over his bulging thigh muscles. When he sat behind her on the edge of the bed, she focused her attention to the ends of her hair, fighting the blush rising from her neck to her cheeks. The questions concerning their relationship suddenly seemed to pale in comparison to his dark, naked skin, begging for her attention once again.

Dave watched her shoulders straining and relaxing as she ran the large flat iron from the roots of her curly hair to the ends. He was mesmerized as the straightened strands fell against the crisp fabric of his dress shirt. Allowing his eyes to drift over her back, his lips twitched in a pleased smile as he realized she wasn't wearing anything but the shirt.

When Meredith finally risked a glance in his direction, his smile caused her own lips to curl. "What?" she asked coyly.

Dave raised his eyes to meet hers in the reflection. "Nice hair," he laughed as one of the curls fell over her forehead.

With a hand on her hip, she pointed the flat iron toward the mirror, refusing to turn. "Hey," she warned. "Beauty has a price," she reminded him. When another curl fell from it's clip, Dave couldn't stop the laugh that escaped. "Kiss my ass, Batista," she shot, narrowing her eyes in a look of mock indignation.

With a shrug, Dave moved from the bed and rested on his knees behind her. Lifting the hem of the shirt, he ran a hand over her rear and then pressed his warm lips to her soft skin. While she continued her preperations, he continued trailing kisses over her back side, determined not to leave an inch uncovered.

"What are you doing?" Meredith finally laughed, pulling the heated ceramic from her hair before she burnt her neck when his fingers began walking over hips and toward her heated center.

Dave looked up innocently. "What? You told me to," he winked, standing and taking the flat iron from her hand. When he had laid it on the counter, he pulled her body into his and kissed her deeply. "You smell so good," he whispered in her ear as he worked his lips over her chin and toward her neck.

"Dave," Meredith giggled, pushing him back until she could look in his eyes. "I have to finish my hair," she insisted.

But he only shook his head and began unfastening the buttons on her shirt. One by one, they opened, revealing more of her porcelain skin. He raised his eyes, his lips pursed together. "Finish it later," he said, his voice low.

Surrendering to another round of deep kisses, Meredith weighed the options. _Sex with sexy boyfriend. Frizzy, uncontrollable hair. Sexy boyfriend. Frizzy hair. _"My hair's gonna look like crap," she grumbled, pouting as she looked at him through thick lashes.

Dave took her hand, pulling her until she was standing at the edge of the bed. "I don't care," he told her, opening the rest of her buttons and pushing her shirt over her shoulders. With his hands on her waist, he sat and pulled her into his lap. "Come here."

Meredith straddled him, laughing loudly when he flipped them over and kissed her again. She could always throw her hair in a ponytail later.

-------------


	9. Chapter 9

The drive to Dallas had been uneventful as Dave and Meredith shared casual conversation and plans for the holidays. They would spend his few days off in DC with his mother before taking off to whatever city was on the schedule the week after. Still unsure of what she was going to do for work in the wake of her divorce, Dave promised Meredith that she wouldn't starve if she took a week off for Christmas.

By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was nearly four in the afternoon and Dave wanted to catch a quick nap before heading to the arena. Meredith watched him slip into instant sleep before lacing up her sneakers and taking her iPod from the suitcase. A good run would help her work off the nerves she was feeling.

Avoiding any awkward meetings with his teammates in the halls, she took the back staircase to a side entrance and began running as soon as her feet hit the parking lot. Since she couldn't run from the pain she had caused Daniel, or the tumult that she had brought into Dave's life, she settled for running until her legs went numb.

When she finally returned to the hotel, she dropped poolside in a lounger and looked up at the sky, gasping for air. When her breathing began to even out, she leaned back on the lounger and listened to the song now filtering through her ears. Dave had played it for her two months earlier and she had downloaded it immediately. "It's funny that you're calling me tonight. And yes, I've dreamt of you, too. And does he know that you're talking to me? Will it start a fight? No, I don't think she has a clue. Well, my girl's in the next room. Sometimes I wish she was you."

She was immersed in Hinder's "Lips of an Angel," fighting yet another round of tears, when someone perched gently on the edge of the seat beside her. She turned, fully expecting to find Dave's gentle eyes, ready to comfort her once again. Instead, she found eyes that radiated understanding and red hair that rivaled her firey shade. "Lita," she whispered, pulling the buds from her ears and cutting the power on the music.

"I'm guessing you're not going to the arena tonight," the Diva stated solemnly, pulling the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands.

Meredith shook her head. She had beeing trying to keep out of the way of all WWE personnel, and the awkward silence that enveloped them reminded her of just why. "Don't really think anyone will miss me," she responded, closing her eyes again.

She wanted to be a part of his world, a part of everything he loved. The fact that nobody seemed to want her there made her feel lower than the adultress she already was. Some days she wondered if they were truly meant for each other, or if they were trying to force something that just wouldn't work.

"Can I tell you something?" Lita asked suddenly, her eyes trained on the glimmering pool before her. "I feel the same way." Meredith looked unconvinced. "Ever since they found out about me and Edge, people started choosing sides, and most of them weren't on mine," she shared.

It wasn't the same thing, but Meredith took some twisted solace in knowing these people would even turn on one of their own. "It's your job, though," she pointed out.

Lita nodded and pulled her knees to her chest. "Yeah, it is. Didn't make it any easier. You have no idea how many times I thought about missing my flight or just driving home to Atlanta. Sometimes it was more than I could stand, knowing that they were watching me. Whispering about me. Judging me." Tucking her hair behind her ears and turned to face Meredith.

"So what changed?" Meredith asked when she realized that Lita was speaking in the past tense. "What made it better?"

With a small smile, the Diva shrugged her shoulders. "I stopped caring what they thought. I spent three days off thinking about my relationship with Matt, and my relationship with Edge, and I wrapped my head around the reality of the situation." Lita wiped a wayward tear from her eye and then smiled. "I loved Matt. Truly loved him. But I don't think you really find yourself, really discover who you are, until you're in your late twenties or early thirties. When Matt and I met, we were both so young. And we were still changing, still growing, as people. The person I became wasn't in love with him." Biting her lip, she turned her body in the chair and ran her fingers through her hair. "But just because we're not together now, it doesn't mean that it wasn't right." Tilting her head to the side, she studied the woman beside her. "It just wasn't right anymore."

Meredith allowed Lita's words to sink in. In a nutshell, she was explaining exactly how Meredith was feeling. "So I just need to stop caring what everyone thinks of me," she repeated, thinking immediately that it was easier said than done.

Standing from her chair, Lita smoothed her pants over her thighs and gave Meredith one more smile. "You just need to know that nobody else is going to accept your relationship with Dave until you do."

-----------------

Though the Supershow had just started, Dave was ready for it to be over. Meredith had been gone when he awoke from his nap, and the "Good Luck" note she left did little to satisfy him. He wasn't sorry that he had told her about the family fight, but he knew that she wasn't just going to forget it because they'd had a good morning, either.

His ringing cell phone drew his attention from the flurry of activity backstage. "Hello," he answered without paying attention to the ring tone or the ID.

"You need to tell your daughter that she can't dye her hair purple," Krista's curt voice greeted him.

"Hello, Krista," he sighed, dropping onto an equipment crate.

With a huff, he heard his wife clear her throat. "I don't have time for small talk, David. I have a ten year old with a head covered of purple dye and she refuses to wash it out early unless Daddy tells her she has to." She took a deep breath and went on. "I also have an eighth grade Geometry take-home test to finish and a dog that won't stop peeing on the carpet. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you try to be a father for once?"

He had to ball his fists at his sides and count backwards from ten to keep from throwing the phone across the room. Just the sound of her voice was grating on his nerves and he wished she was there so he could tell her to 'go to hell' in person. "Put Eden on the phone," he sighed when he had regained his composure.

After ten minutes of telling his youngest daughter to do what her mother told her to do, listening to her cry and whine, and then repeating his first instruction. he asked to speak to her mother again. "She's gonna wash it out," he said.

"Thank you," Krista's voice was exhausted and frazzled, just as it had been for years now. "Don't forget we have a meeting with the lawyer on Thursday," she added before mumbling a good bye and disconnected the call.

Dave flipped his phone shut and let out a frustrated growl. "God help me, I will kill her before this is over," he sighed.

"Nah, man," a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Not worth it."

Looking up, Dave smiled as Edge sat beside him, sipping from a water bottle and watching the chaos around them. He had just come back from an in-ring promo and Dave noticed immediately that the adrenaline hadn't worn off yet, since Edge couldn't keep his foot from tapping repeatedly on the floor.

Letting out yet another breath, Dave shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what I ever saw in her," he muttered, running his hand over his hair.

"Ah," Edge smiled again. "Ex wife?"

"Soon to be," Dave corrected.

"Been there, man," he smiled, holding up his first and middle fingers. "Twice."

He nodded. Edge's marital status had been the topic of conversation on more than one occasion in the locker room. If he was honest, he'd had his own share of opinions on the whole infamous love triangle. Of course, that had been before he was trapped in one himself.

Shaking his head, Edge thought about the missteps in his own personal life. "We were a lot easier to love back then," he pointed to a group of indie wrestlers who were hanging out backstage for the night.

"Maybe we're not the ones who changed with success," Dave suggested.

"Bitch, please," Edge laughed, patting his friend on the back. "You can't live this life and not be changed. Especially the fast track you took," he pointed out, not worrying whether or not he would piss the big man off. Undertaker had once been the one to kick him in the ass, and he was more than willing to fill that role for someone else.

Dave raised an eyebrow and turned his head to the young punk at his side. "You don't know shit one about my marriage," he accused.

"You're right," Edge conceded. "I don't even think I would recognize your wife if she walked through that door," he pointed to his left without looking. "But I know that Lita almost walked out on me a few months ago because I couldn't let go of the anger I felt toward my ex. Said I might as well have stayed married to her if I was gonna spend so much time thinkin' about her."

"That's your big advice?" Dave asked skeptically. "Just let it go?"

Nodding as though it were the most brilliant advice he'd ever given. "Think back to a time when your wife wasn't a raving bitch and try to figure out what made her one. Take responsibility for your part in that," he shrugged simply, "and then move on with your new life and your smokin' hot girlfriend."

As Edge patted his leg and walked away, Dave stared at the floor. He was a man, and by nature, didn't want to think that he was wrong. Sure, he could admit that having an affair wasn't the right way to end his marriage. But it was sure easier to pretend Krista had driven him to it.

A soft hand on his shoulder drew his attention from the side of his boot. When he looked up, a smile spread across his lips. "What are you doin' here?"

Meredith sat on the crate beside him and looped her arm through his, laying her head on his shoulder. "I think it's time for people to get used to seeing us together," she said, her voice low as she ran her fingernails along the sensitive skin inside his arm.

Withdrawing slightly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and rested his hand on her hip as he pulled her closer to his chest. "Sounds like a plan to me."


	10. Chapter 10

"I'm sure your client is a reasonable man, Counselor. Mrs. Batista has virtually been the sole caregiver of these children since the day they were born."

Dave sighed and rubbed his forehead with his palm. There had been a time when he could have spent hours in a small room with Krista and not grown tired. There was a time when this throbbing headache would have never surfaced. There was a time when her smug little smile, and all of the secrets that it concealed, would have filled him with anticipation instead of dread.

But as their divorce lawyers bickered back and forth about custody rights, Dave wished he was anywhere but here. Meredith had left him after the Supershow earlier in the week and he hadn't had a chance to see her since. They had only managed to catch each other on the phone a few times and he was anxious to be with her again. It didn't help that Edge's words kept running through his head.

He knew that he was partly to blame for Krista's behavior. When she accused him of being an absentee father, of being a neglectful husband, he grew defensive. He refused to admit that he hadn't been around as much as she would have liked. But he found solace in the fact that she knew this was his dream. Hell, she had dreamed it with him for the better part of five years.

_"I don't think I can do this anymore," Dave groaned, rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling. "Every part of my body is throbbing."_

_Krista leaned up on her elbow and ran her fingers over his bulging pectoral muscles. "Every part?" she smiled, her dark eyes glimmering as she continued to caress his skin._

_Dave lifted his head and began to reach for her neck, fully intent on pulling his wife in for a hungry kiss. Instead, he grunted and fell back against the pillow. "I can't even," he started, his eyes pinched tightly as he willed it all away._

_Shifting in her place, Krista rested her head against Dave's chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's okay, baby," she purred, kissing the warm skin just below her cheek. "You can make it up to me later."_

_He smiled and managed to run his fingers over the back of her naked skin. She was, quite possibly, the most sensual woman he had ever known. Her black hair and dark skin were direct reflections of her Hispanic roots. She had curves in all the right places, even moreso now that she had borne two beautiful daughters. Sure, she had the disposition of a spirited Latina, but it was part of what he loved so much. The passion with which she expressed herself, either loving or fighting, had been the thing he had fallen in love with in the beginning._

_He could still clearly remember the night she tried to get into the club. It was already one in the morning and he had been working the door, as a bouncer, for nearly four hours. He was tired, aggrevated at a few jackasses who had needed to be thrown out, and he just wanted to go home. Her top had barely covered her ample cleavage, and the tiny denim skirt she wore sat low enough on her hips to suggest she couldn't possibly be wearing anything underneath._

_But she had only been twenty, and he couldn't let her inside. He'd been known to let hot girls through when he knew their ID's were fake, but she wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she was underage. Maybe, if he hadn't seen several cops enter the bar earlier in the evening, he could have let her through. But he needed the job and he just couldn't let it slide._

_She had pouted her full lips and puffed out her chest, but to no avail. Dave had seen it all before, and he was determined not to budge. It wasn't until he woke up the next afternoon that he realized she had slipped her phone number into the pocket of his leather jacket. It wasn't the first time he'd scored a number at the bar, but it was the first time he had made the call. _

_Even when he told her that he was training to be a professional wrestler, she hadn't been shaken. She told him that he would be perfect for the job, that he had a body like she had never seen before, and that she would love to be his cheerleader along the road. She never missed an indie show, standing out at ringside like a piercing light in the dark, middle-school gymnasiums. She picked fights with fans who cheered against her man, and even worked as his valet for a short time._

_After the birth of their first child, Krista had started staying home more often, but she rarely complained about the longer hours Dave spent honing his skills. She was a hairdresser. He was a bouncer. They barely made enough money to support themselves, let alone a baby. Any extra cash that Dave brought in with his wrestling was welcome back then._

_For almost two years, they struggled along, raising their daughter and working toward Dave's dream. Though she couldn't be there in person, Krista would wait up, even when he didn't get home from a road trip until sunrise, to hear all about his adventures from the ring. They were living their dream, and life was perfect._

_And then came two, back-to-back phone calls that changed their lives. First, the call came that Dave was being offered a contract with one of World Wrestling Entertainment's developmental territories. The family would be moving to Louisville, Kentucky. But before they could wipe their tears of joy at the realization of his dream, the doctor called. Krista was pregnant again. A 'blubbering mess' was the only way to describe the couple for the rest of the afternoon._

_Dave became Leviathon with little trouble, tearing through opponents as he continued to learn the art of professional wrestling. Fans in Louisville treated him like a celebrity, and Krista began teasing Dave that he was beginning to act like one. While she stayed home with their girls, he went to clinics and rubbed shoulders with WWE Superstars. She was more proud of him than anyone, but his career brought a whole new set of demands, and she began to feel slightly neglected._

_In those quiet moments, though, she remembered why she loved him. When the Rebekah and Eden were both sleeping, and he was aching from head to toe, she remembered why they were fighting to keep it all together. She remembered just how much she believed in this man that she had married._

_"Dave?" she asked, not sure if he was still awake. His mumbled response was too quiet to be heard, but it rumbled through his chest and echoed against her cheek as she drew abstract patterns over his abs with her fingers. "You can do this."_

_His breath ached as it hissed through his chest. "You think?" he asked, tightening his grip on her shoulders._

_Krista nodded and turned in his arms, smiling up at him. "I know it," she whispered. "You're gonna be World Heavyweight Champion someday," she predicted._

_Dave chuckled cynically at the absurdity of her statement. Most of the guys he was training with had been working the indie circuit, on developmental deals, for years. They all knew that the chances of even getting a call-up were slim. Making it to the top of the Superstar ladder was an even loftier goal. Especially for a guy already in his thirties._

_"You gonna be there cheerin' for me when that happens?" he asked._

_Her lilting laughter bounced off of the walls of their small, barely furnished apartment. "Hey," she said, moving back to her own pillow and resting her chin on his broad shoulder. "Remember when Rebekah was born? Remember? You had to go to that show in Jersey and you were all worried about leaving us alone for the night?" She kissed his jaw and whispered in his ear. "Remember what I said?"_

_Dave felt his heart beat just a little bit faster. A smile spread over his lips at the recollection. "You said to go work my ass off, and you'd be waiting to hear all about it when I got home."_

_Krista nodded. "That's not gonna change, Papi," she whispered in his ear. "I'll always be right here, waiting to hear all about it."_

"David," Krista's voice sounded, interrupting his thoughts.

Lifting his head, he looked across the conference room table. "We need to talk," he addressed his wife as though they were the only ones in the room.

"Mr. Batista, anything you have to say to your wife can be said in these chambers," her lawyer, a high-profile divorce attorney, stated cooly.

But Dave's gaze never left Krista's. He said nothing more, simply nodded his head toward the door. Edge had been right. He had to let it go.

Krista pushed back from the table, just as Dave had done, and smoothed her hands over her pencil skirt. The heels of her pumps clicked over the tiled floor as she stepped into the hallway of the quiet office building. "What's goin on?" she asked, her eyes filled with confusion when she saw Dave sitting on a bench, his head in his hands.

His elbows rested on his knees as he looked up and shook his head. "You were my biggest cheerleader. You always loved watching me wrestle," he started, knowing full well that his words would sound like they were coming out of nowhere. Truth be told, he felt like they were. He hadn't intended to speak to her. In fact, he had planned to walk into the arbitration, accept or deny her demands, and go home to his girlfriend without so much as a word to his nearly ex-wife.

Crossing her arms, Krista leveled her gaze at Dave. "Are you on drugs?" she asked.

His eyes shot up at the ridiculous question and Dave found his lips curling into a smile of amusement. "No," he assured her, leaning back on the bench. "I've just been doing a lot of thinking in the last couple of days," he told her. "And I'm wondering when you started hating my career so much. When you started hating me," he explained. "Because I remember you telling me that you would always be there waiting when I got home."

With a shrug, Krista lowered herself to the seat beside him. "You stopped coming home," she responded simply. "You shot to the top, just like I always knew you would," she smiled at the thought.

She had been so proud of him at one time. Hearing the elation in his voice when he told her how Triple H and Ric Flair had chosen him to be a part of Evolution had made her giggle like a school girl. Seeing him gain success had been like watching her own dream come true. But there had been a price. Sadly, that price had been their marriage.

Dave turned in his seat, determined to get some answers. "I was busy, but I always came back to you, Krista. Always. I was home as much as I could be, and when I wasn't, I invited you to come out on the road with me." He wasn't trying to pick another fight, but he needed to know how much of this was his fault. He needed to know how to avoid another failure. Right or wrong, he was in love with Meredith, and he didn't want to lose her the same way he had lost Krista.

"Even when you were there, Dave, you weren't there anymore," she sighed, shaking her head and fighting the anger that was rising in her chest again. He just never seemed to get it. "Your mind was always on the road, in the ring. You barely noticed what was going on with us, let alone cared about it," she accused.

The idea that he didn't care about his own family was preposterous. "There is nothing I love more than my girls, Krista," he insisted.

She nodded and licked her red lips. "Used to be there was nothing you loved more than me," she responded quietly.

A light bulb illuminated Dave's brain. "Your jealous," he said.

"Your damn right I'm jealous," she responded, surprising Dave in the process. "How the hell can you expect me not to be?"

He was at a loss. She was actually admitting to being jealous of her own children. "They're your daughters!" he exclaimed.

But Krista shook her head. "I'm not jealous of the girls, Dave! I'm not jealous of your fame or your fans or your career!" Sighing, she released her hair from the large clip that had been holding it back from her face. Running her fingers through the dark locks, she tried to figure out a way to tell him exactly how she had been feeling for so long. "I used to be it, Dave. I was your world. I was your princess." Blinking back the unexpected tears that pricked the back of her eyes, Krista huffed. "Somewhere along the way, I became your servant."

"I never treated you like a servant," Dave defended himself hastily.

Raising an eyebrow, Krista pleaded with him to see her side for once. He was so determined that he was right, that she didn't know what she was talking about, that he didn't realize she only yelled in the hopes that he would hear her. "I did your laundry while you slept off your jetlag. I cooked your dinner while you played with the girls. I organized your schedule while you caught up with old friends."

A sense of defeat settled over Dave. "I never asked you to do my laundry. We could have ordered take out so you didn't have to cook. I could have managed my own schedule, Krista."

"I wanted to support you, Dave. I really was proud of you. I'm still proud of everything you've accomplished," she admitted. "I just got so tired of waiting for you to appreciate it."

He shook his head, unsure of what he should say. She was right. He had stopped being grateful for everything she had done for him. She had given up any chance at a career for herself to stay home with their daughters so he could chase his dream all over the world. She had done everything she could to make sure that his days at home were stress-free and enjoyable. And he had grown to expect it. He had become the diva she had accused him of being.

"Krista, I," he started, but she put her hand on his thigh. "I'm sorry," he finished.

Nodding, she rubbed the silky fabric of his pants and then straightened her shoulders. Securing her hair back in the clip, she stood and ran her hands over her thighs. "If I sign off on joint custody, David, you have to promise me that you will make a concerted effort to get home to those girls as much as possible. Even if it means that you don't get as much time with your new girlfriend as you would like. Promise me that you will act like the father you used to be."

He swallowed hard as he stood, nodding his head. "You have my word."

She led the way back into the conference room, easing back into her seat and whispering into her lawyer's ear. It was her final act of graciousness, allowing Dave to have the joint custody he had been holding out for since their divorce proceedings had started. Narrowing her eyes at her soon-to-be ex-husband, she thought,_ So help you God, David Batista, if you screw this up._

Dave didn't have to hear the words to know exactly what Krista was thinking. But he wasn't worried. In fact, for the first time in months, he was feeling at peace with himself. He had apologized to Krista and could finally feel as though they had ended things amicably. He was free to move on without the nagging guilt that he had tried so hard to push down. And he couldn't wait to tell Meredith all about it.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: I have to confess I didn't really outline this chapter the way I usually do with my stories. It's been a "feel it out as I go" kind of story, but I think the end is near. I would say there are probably two, maybe three, chapters left to the end. **

**  
Thanks so much for all of your reviews! You guys are the best, and I mean that with all of the sincerity in my heart. I really do love you guys. And if you haven't read my profile page, I just wanted to let you all know that Vera and I have started a myspace page to highlight our writing and some other stuff. I'd love to have you stop by and take a look around. You can get there by clicking on the "homepage" link on my profile page.**

**As always, Enjoy!**

The loud musings of Dashboard Confessional filled the room that Meredith had converted into her art studio. The natural light flowing throw the windows on the back side of the house had been the selling point for her. She had chosen a career in fashion design as a way to capitalize on her love for the latest trends, blended with her keen eye for colors and textures. But her heart would always return to the serenity of brush strokes against a blank canvas.

Less the punk rock princess, and more the frumpy artist, Meredith was dressed in baggy overalls and a tank top, her hair thrown into a haphazard ponytail on the top of her head. Though she knew it was ironic that she found solace in the words of a song called "Screaming Infidelities," she couldn't stop herself from singing along to the song blaring from her stereo.

"Maybe I'm way outta line here," a deep voice sounded from the doorway of the studio, "But I'm thinkin' a single woman, living all by herself, might wanna lock her doors." Meredith turned and smiled at the young man in her doorway. "Never know what kinda scum might walk in and take advantage of a hot body like yours."

Dropping her brush into a nearby cup, Meredith moved toward Daniel's oldest son, Jaden, and accepted his friendly hug. "Hey you," she breathed when he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"What's up, Mom?" he asked, his blue eyes dancing as he smirked at the name he knew she hated.

Meredith pulled back and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, careful not to smudge the green color on her fingers over her face. "Cute," she commented, wiping her palms over her pants in the hopes of cleaning them slightly. "So what's up, Jay?"

He followed her out of the room and down the hall, stopping against the wall when she stepped into the bathroom and held her hands under the streaming water. Studying her carefully, Jaden forced himself to look away before she caught his eyes boring into her. "I was on my way to the beach house and I thought I would just stop by and check out the new digs."

Meredith cut the water and wiped her hands on the towel by the wall. When she met his eyes, she was instantly reminded of his father. She knew that Daniel had worried, in the beginning of their relationship, that Jaden would use his charisma and good looks to steal Meredith away from him. While she had assured her husband time and time again that her affection was his alone, it was hard to deny Jaden's charm, and the subsequent bond that the two had shared.

"Approve?" she asked, holding his gaze as she stepped into the hall, until she brushed past him.

Jaden cleared his throat and nodded. She was his father's wife. His step-mom, though she had always seemed more like an old college friend. He was a happily married father of two. Of course, rumor had it, she was kind of fond of that these days. Shaking his head, he ran a hand over his disheveled brown locks. "It's nice," he answered finally. "I like it."

"Thanks," Meredith smiled, leading him into the living room. "You want a beer?"

Jaden nodded enthusiastically. "That would be great," he answered, lowering himself to the couch and pushing aside the enormous sweatshirt that had been left over the arm. A few classic car magazines were scattered on the coffee table. Evidence of the new boyfriend was all around, and he wasn't sure he liked that so much. "So, did you get the new Damien Rice record yet?"

"Downloaded it," Meredith responded from the kitchen, materializing once more with two long-neck bottles. Offering him one, she took a drink and tucked her hair behind her ear. "What do you think of the new Snow Patrol?"

Jake rolled his eyes and gulped a giant swig from his bottle. "Little too girlie for me," he said, bouncing his knee comfortably. Meredith nodded as though she had suspected as much. "Have you heard the Green Day/ U2 collaboration?"

"I was giddy," she admitted with a slight blush. Two of her favorite bands teaming up to cover an anti-war ballad? It was like her musical wet dream come true.

He smiled and took another drink. "Made me think of you."

If any of Daniel's kids took the time to get to know Meredith and her interests, it was Jaden. Due mostly to their close proximity in age, they had talked extensively about music, movies, and books. Jaden had several pieces of art in his home that Meredith would have killed to get her hands on. Any outside observer might think that they were actually brother and sister.

But as she watched his eyes skimming over the roses Dave had sent her a week ago, she knew the truth. She wasn't his sister. She wasn't his mother. And she wasn't his father's wife anymore. "So," she finally said, grasping for anything that might make the awkward silence less suffocating. "How are the kids?"

Jaden snapped his attention back to the woman in the chair to his left. "They're good," he nodded, drinking from his beer again. "Jack's gone PS3 crazy," he smiled proudly when Meredith rolled her eyes. _Like father, like son_. "And Emma's pretty much just crazy."

At the mention of little Emma, Meredith felt unexpected tears. The little spitfire had spent more than a few weekends keeping Meredith company when Daniel was on the road. She had always imagined that, had she and Daniel ever had a child, she would be just like Emma. "It's a good crazy, though," she sighed, staring at a spot on the table.

"I was thinking," Jaden said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. "If you want, I could bring her by some time. Maybe you guys could hang out at the park or something."

She nodded and blinked back the tears before they could fall. "That'd be great, Jay," she managed to say around her constricting throat.

While his impromptu visit disspelled her fear that every member of the Casey family would hate her for eternity, it also reiterated the fact that she hadn't just left Daniel. She had walked away from all of them.

Before she could bring up the subject of the divorce, or offer any kind of unsolicited apology, there was a knock at the front door just before it swung open. "Knock, knock," Dave's voice pierced the silence. He saw Jaden first, and then turned to Meredith, a question in his eyes. "Hey, you."

She smiled awkwardly and stood, unsure of what to say or how to explain either of them to the other. "Hey."

"I didn't realize you had company," he smiled, though Meredith thought it seemed a little forced.

Nodding, she looked beyond him. Two shy, miserable-looking girls stood behind their father. Obviously, the tension in the room wasn't palpable only to adults. "And you brought some company of your own," she said, a little stunned by seeing Dave's daughters.

"Alright, so I'm goin' now," Jaden announced, standing from his seat and running his hands over his jeans.

She turned and accepted the hug that he was offering. "It was good to see you again, Jay," she whispered, taking comfort in the feeling of his arms around her. If she closed her eyes and used her imagination, he felt like Daniel.

He nodded and kissed the top of her head. Turning, he offered a hand to Dave. "I'm Jaden Casey," he introduced himself, taking a sick sort of pleasure in the fact that this brick wall of a man was squirming under his scrutiny.

"Dave Batista," Dave said, coolly regaining his composure before anyone could notice it slipping. "Nice to meet you, Jaden."

He nodded, noting immediately the way Dave seemed to position himself between his daughters and the strangers before them. It was subtle, but a father noticed a protective stance when he saw one. And he appreciated the fact that this guy's first thought was to shelter his kids. Sure, the guy had also stole Jaden's father's wife, but he knew, better than anyone, that the marriage had been on the road to "over" before Meredith had ever met Dave.

"Take care of my mommy, okay?" he smiled brightly, cringing when he felt Meredith's hand strike the back of his head. "Ouch, woman! Child abuse!"

"Your family is waiting for you," she laughed, pointing to the door. "I think you should go to them."

"Alright, fine," Jaden shook his head. "Bye, Mommy," he waved one last time, his chuckle filtering through the air one last time as he shut the door behind him.

She shook her head again and turned to her boyfriend. "So I didn't know you were coming over today," she said, trying her best to choose her words wisely. She didn't know how much his girls knew, but she didn't feel like accidentally filling them in on anything more than he had.

Dave moved to her side and wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head. "We're not staying long," he assured her. "We were just wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with us tonight."

Meredith took a deep breath and finally met the eyes of the two people in the world she knew could make or break their relationship. Whether Dave admitted it or not, they wouldn't last if his daughter's didn't approve.

She smiled at the girls and then looked up at Dave. "Don't you think you should introduce us first?" she whispered.

Nodding, Dave stepped away from his girlfriend slightly. "Okay," he started, clapping his hands and thinking of who to introduce first. "Meredith Casey, this is my youngest daughter, Eden," he smiled, grabbing his ten-year-old daughter and hitching her onto his hip.

Eden hid her face in her father's shoulder. Her petite frame suggested that she was much younger than her ten years. Her full lips and high cheek bones were identical to her mother's, but her dark eyes were a mirror-image of her father. She was adorable, but the blush in her cheeks said that she was less-than-comfortable with this entire situation.

"Can you say 'hi,' Edie?" Dave whispered, rubbing his daughter's back softly as she shook her head. "Come on, Sweetie. We talked about this, remember?" When she didn't respond, Dave turned to his eldest. "This is Rebekah," he said.

Rebekah Batista was nearly fifteen, and already clearly past her awkward stage. She had her mother's curves and her father's height, already standing eye-to-eye with Meredith. Her flawless skin seemed to be fashioned out of porcelain, and matched her father's creamy, mocha hue. She was, quite possibly, the most stunning young woman Meredith had ever seen.

The bored look on her face reminded Meredith of herself at that age. "I'm Meredith," she said, offering a hand to the teen. When Rebekah took it, she breathed an inward sigh of relief. "It's nice to meet you, Rebekah."

"You, too," she whispered, looking at the floor awkwardly. She knew that her parents had been having problems for awhile, that her mother hated the fact that father got to see the world while they stayed home and lived normal lives.

Dave inclined his head as the whispered sound of Eden's voice brushed the air. With a smile, he set her feet on the floor and watched as she grasped his hand with both of her tiny ones. "I'm gonna show her to the bathroom," he said, leading his youngest down the hall.

"So," Meredith started, motioning toward the couch and following when Rebekah perched on the edge of the cushion. She flopped into the chair and released her hair from the ponytail. "This is really awkward, isn't it?"

Rebekah nodded but refused to smile. "My dad told me that he started dating you before he left my mom." She bit her lip and turned her head toward the woman at her left. Her dad told her that she had been blessed and cursed with her mother's inability to keep her mouth shut, and he was right. "He said that they hadn't been happy together for a long time, but that he didn't want to leave me and my sister."

Inexplicably, Meredith felt a bond with Rebekah, as though she knew exactly where the young woman was coming from. "And you think that I made the decision that much easier for him? That he met me and then it was easy to walk away from you guys, right?" Rebekah nodded and licked her lips nervously. "Can I tell you something? Honestly?"

"I know you don't have any kids, Meredith, but we tend to have a pretty good bull shit meter. So anything you have to tell me better be honest." She raised an eyebrow and earned an appreciative grin from her father's girlfriend in response.

"Fair enough," Meredith admitted, holding her hands up as if to surrender. "I don't know what your mom has told you about the divorce, but I know your dad fought tooth and nail to make sure he didn't get cut out of your lives. You and your sister mean the world to him." She leaned forward and twisted her fingers together. "Your parents split up, Rebekah. But your dad didn't leave you. He could never leave you."

She chuckled slightly, running her fingers through her silky locks and leaned back on the couch. "You're as sappy as he is," she sighed, rolling her head to look at Meredith.

"Sweetie, nobody's as sappy as your dad," Meredith smirked, leaning back in her own seat and feeling the tension in the room begin to dissipate.

They were quiet for a moment and Rebekah looked down the hall to where her father had disappeared with her sister. "Eden doesn't understand why Dad doesn't love Mom anymore." Pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, she blinked her eyes to disguise the tears she wasn't ready for this new woman to see. "I don't really get that part, either."

There were a million thoughts coursing through Meredith's head, not the least of which were the reasons Dave had fallen out of love with his first wife. They had talked about their marriages ad nauseum, and she knew so many things that this child would never be ready to hear. But even the inherent sensuality Rebekah possessed couldn't cover the innocence in her wide eyes. She didn't need to be exposed to adult issues she couldn't understand.

"My mom's not a bad person," Rebekah seemed to read Meredith's mind. "She has a temper, and she likes to have things her way, but," she shook her head and shot a look at Meredith, "who doesn't?"

"Alright," Dave's deep voice entered the room before he did. He was holding Eden again, but she wasn't hiding anymore. "Eden," he kissed his daughter on the forehead and pointed. "This is Meredith."

Wiping her red-rimmed eyes, she waved shyly and muttered a soft "hi" before running the back of her hand over her tear-stained cheeks.

"Hi, Eden," Meredith said, standing to greet the small girl. "It's nice to meet you."

Her sad face finally broke into a hesitant grin. "It's nice to meet you, too," she finally answered, blushing wildly once again. "Daddy says we can get pizza before the movie if we leave soon," she informed her father's new girlfriend.

Meredith smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "I'll tell you what," she sighed, turning to look at Rebekah and then back at Dave. "I need to take a shower. And since I know y'all don't get a lot of quality family time together, why don't you go get pizza while I get cleaned up, and I will meet you at the theater for the movie?"

Dave could barely contain his smile as he sat Eden on the floor. "Bekah, take your sister to the car. I'll be there in a second."

"Can I drive?" Rebekah asked, giving her father her best puppy dog eyes.

Dave smiled and nodded. "Hell. No." When she pouted, he shook his head. "You are fourteen years old," he reminded the girl.

"Only for another month. Then I'll have my permit," she argued back, her hands one hand on her hip while the other gripped her younger sister's hand.

But Dave wasn't phased. "And _then _you can drive," he winked, knowing it would only serve to further piss her off. "You can start the car," he finally compromised, handing the keys over. "But if you're in the driver's seat when I get out there, I will move you myself, Rebekah Kristine."

She rolled her eyes and snatched the keys from her father's grasp, leading her sister from the house. "You're so freakin' boring!" she shot before shutting the door.

Meredith wrapped her arms around Dave's neck and smiled up into his dark eyes. "I'm so glad I'm not her mom," she whispered, resting her chin against his chest.

Dave rested his hands on her waist and pulled her even closer. "Why's that?" he asked with a chuckle. Sure, he'd had a hell of a time convincing Eden to come out of the bathroom and meet his friend, but other than that glitch, he was thrilled with the way his weekend home was starting.

"I like her. There's no way I could punish her. Ever," she winked. "And because I'm way to young to have a daughter that old," she added.

For a moment, he had feared that she would say that Rebekah had mouthed off while they were alone, that she had said something horribly unforgivable. Hearing that Meredith liked his daughters gave him hope that they might make it after all. "You'd definitely be one sexy momma," he murmmered, running his hand up her back to stroke the back of her neck.

"Maye someday," she sighed, resting her cheek against his chest and revelling in the sound of his heartbeat. They had weathered every storm that had rumbled their way, and they had conquered them so far.

They had no idea that the greatest challenge was yet to come.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: Okay, so before the last chapter I said this would probably be two or three more chapters. Then I had this other idea. So now I don't know how long it's going to be. Four? Five? Twelve more? Hell, I don't know. I'm just gonna write and quit trying to predict!**

**Thanks for all of your reviews. You guys are the best!**

**---------**

_"Tell me about your family."_

_They had been seeing each other for nearly three months, and Meredith realized it was the first morning they had shared together. Normally, she was running home before Daniel returned from a business trip. Or Dave was gone to the airport before she woke up. But now her husband was in Tokyo for two weeks. Dave had cleared a couple of days by telling his wife he was heading to Stamford early for meetings._

_Looking to the end of the couch, Meredith shrugged. "You know about my family," she told him. "Daniel has three kids. And three grandkids," she started._

_But Dave placed a soft hand on her ankle and shook his head. "Not your husband's family. **Your **family. Mom. Dad. Siblings."_

_She squirmed slightly at the question. "Yes, I have a mom and a dad. Brother, sister, and brother and sister-in-law. I have a nephew, who I've never officially met, but his pictures are adorable. Parents still live in Indiana. Brother, sister-in-law, and nephew live in Michigan. Sister and brother-in-law are residing in his native Oklahoma."_

_Dave looked to his girlfriend, expecting more, but receiving nothing. "That's it?"_

_Meredith sighed and put her coffee cup on the end table, stretching her arms over her head. "That's it. We don't really talk much, ya know? Phone calls on holidays. E-mails once in awhile. Occasionally, my mom will call to tell me if something major is going on. I haven't seen them since my sister's wedding last summer." She wrapped her arms around her knees and waited for his inevitable reaction._

_Unsure of what to say, or why he even wanted to know, Dave found himself incredibly interested in everything she wasn't saying. "So what was the big fall out?" he asked, refusing to look away from his girlfriend's face. To avert his eyes was to be reminded that he was in the house she shared with her husband._

_Shrugging, Meredith tucked her hair behind her ears. "There wasn't one," she responded simply. "We just don't have a lot in common."_

_"But they're your family," Dave countered instinctively._

_She nodded and relaxed her legs, resting them over his. "And I love them," she assured him. "I just can't really hang out with them. Look," she sighed, rubbing her foot down his thigh as if to reassure him that she was still the same caring woman he had come to know. "I'm sure you don't spend your free time hangin' out with people you have nothing in common with. Why should I? Just because we're related?"_

_"Well, yeah," Dave insisted. The truth was, he couldn't fathom not wanting to spend time with his family. His mother and his sister had been such integral parts of his life in the past. He couldn't imagine his life without Rebekah and Eden. Family was too important to shrug off, as far as he was concerned._

_They had shared a lot of intimate things in the course of their relationship, but Meredith found herself wondering if she had inadvertantly stumbled upon the deal breaker to this union they were forming. "I know how important family is, okay? But I also know that everybody doesn't get the close-knit, Normal Rockwell happily-ever-after." _

_He wanted to see things from her perspective, but his mind kept whirling in the direction of his own girls. Sure, Rebekah thought he was lame. But when she was excited about something, she always called him first. When she was nervous, scared, or doubting herself? She always wanted her daddy to tell her everything would be okay. He couldn't imagine not hearing her voice for a year. Hell, he couldn't imagine not hearing his own mother's voice when he was feeling the same things. Though he only spoke to his sister a few times a month, he knew he couldn't do without her, either. He just couldn't imagine a life without family._

_"So do you ever plan on having one of your own?"_

_He really had no right to ask her that question. He was her secret lover. She had a husband, and the family that had come along with that. What right did he have to question her like they had any kind of future together? "I have one, Dave," she reminded._

_Knowing he had crossed the line, Dave nodded and looked to his left. A large painting of the Casey family hung on the wall, Daniel and Meredith in the center, surrounded by kid and grandkids, looking like the very Rockwell painting she had just shunned moments ago._

_She could see the conflict in his face, and suddenly felt the need to make him understand her distance from the very people who had given her life. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that it was a meaningless fling with Dave, she knew that it was turning into so much more. She was beginning to trust him with the things she rarely told anyone, and it scared her sometimes. It also comforted her._

_"My dad's a minister. My mom started a crisis pregnancy center in our town when I was twelve. She regularly gives abstinence lectures in high schools all over the state. My brother is a Religious History professor at a Christian college and my sister is teaching second graders in a church-run elementary school." She watched the shock on his face at her revelation. "So how did that family of farm country, right wing, conservative Republicans turn out this socialite, anti-war, Pro-Choice, liberal artist?" Dave propped his elbow on the arm of the couch and rested his cheek against his palm. "I have no idea," Meredith laughed slightly, dropping back onto the couch beside him. "Just how it is."_

_When all else failed, Meredith always had a way of making Dave smile. Raising her shoulders dramatically, she flashed a cheesey grin at him, showing her pearly whites and giving him her best bright eyes. "How do you do that?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into his chest._

_"Must be all that damn charm I can't seem to get rid of," Meredith teased, snuggling closer to him. Maybe the entire situation had thrown him more than he was ready to admit. Maybe he would think about what she had told him and change his mind completely. But for the moment, he seemed to be letting it go._

_"You are pretty cute," he admitted, standing and pulling her into his arms. When she locked her ankles behind his back and scrunched her nose like a bunny, Dave was gone. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't hide from it anymore. He wouldn't say it - not while she was someone else's wife - but he couldn't deny that he felt it. He was over-the-moon in love with Meredith Casey._

"Tell me you love me," Meredith exhaled, biting her fingernail as she stared out the window at the passing scenery.

Dave chuckled and leaned back in the driver's seat of the rental car. He reached over the center counsole and wove his fingers through hers. "I love you," he assured her with the squeeze of her fingers. "And my family will love you, too," he promised.

When he first suggested that they spend the Christmas holiday with his mother, Meredith had agreed without much thought. But as the day drew closer, she found the butterflies going crazy in her stomach. Everytime she thought about meeting his mother, she wanted to vomit. She knew how important his family was to him, and she didn't want to leave this weekend with them thinking the same things of him that her's thought of her.

"What have you told them about me?" she asked suddenly, uncertain of whether or not she really wanted to hear the answer.

Dave cleared his throat and released her hand, resting her arm over the back of her seat. He gently massaged the back of her neck and felt her muscles relax in response. "They know that I am insanely in love with you. They know that we met before Krista and I split up," he said, shaking his head.

Meredith turned in her seat and pulled away from his touch. "She doesn't know I was married, does she?" Dave shook his head. "Oh, this is not going to end well."

He eased the car into the driveway and killed the engine. "It's going to be fine. Hell, if anyone should be nervous, it's me," he half-chuckled and pushed his door open. Though he was slightly anxious about the weekend ahead, the anticipation of seeing his family again was drowning out any other emotion.

"Why would you be nervous?" Meredith asked, stepping out of the car and hitching her jeans higher on her hips. Maybe she would have felt better if she had dressed up a little bit. Christmas had always been about formal dinners, even at home with her parents. Being dressed in jeans and a sweater felt wrong somehow. Comfortable, but wrong.

Dave pulled their luggage out of the trunk and handed her the back of gifts. "I'm the one spending four days with a house full of women," he reminded her.

She followed him up the cobblestone walkway and stepped onto the porch. "I thought your brother-in-law was coming."

"Nah, he backed out. He won't admit it, but my sister says he's scared of me." He rolled his shoulders as though it was no big thing, but Meredith found it extremely funny.

"Scared of you? Why the hell would anybody be scared of you?" she asked, poking his side with the tip of her finger.

Dave flinched and raised an eyebrow, giving her his best "ring" eyes. "I'm very intimidating," he reminded her before breaking into a broad grin. "Besides," he shrugged his shoulders and turned the door knob, "I once told him I'd break every one of his limbs slowly if he ever hurt my sister or made her the least bit unhappy."

"That's my cuddly teddy bear," Meredith rolled her eyes as she lugged the bag in her hands over the threshold of the house that smelled like cinnamon and pine.

A rapid swishing of socks on hard wood was heard as someone approached the entry. "David!"

Meredith huddled neard the staircase as a tiny woman with dark skin and eyes launched herself into Dave's arms. She instantly found herself wondering how in the world that woman had squeezed a man Dave's size out of her petite body. _He wasn't 6'5" when she squeezed him out, dumb ass. _

She had silky black hair and large, dark eyes. The tiny laugh lines around her eyes were the only thing that threatened to give away her age, though, and Meredith found it hard to believe that this woman could have two children in their thirties. Wiping tears from her eyes, Diem Batista stepped away from her son and kept her tiny hands affixed to his muscular arms. "It's so good to see you again, Baby Boy," she said, her accent apparent, but her words were clearly understandable.

"It's good to be home, Momma," Dave answered, wiping a stray tear from his mother's face with his thumb. "Stop crying." Though he was trying to encourage her to stay strong, Meredith heard him sniffle right along with the woman he admired so deeply.

"Oh look," a sweet voice interrupted the reunion, "David's crying again."

Turning to his sister, Dave rolled his eyes and hesitantly stepped into her open arms. "Nice to see you again, too, brat."

She playfully smacked his arm and tossed her long, blonde curls over her shoulder. While it was clear the blonde was from a bottle, Meredith noticed that she leaned much closer to their father's Greek heritage than to their mother's Asian side. Her green eyes danced as she narrowed them at her older brother. "So," she finally said, stepping around her brother. "You must be the infamous Meredith. I'm Danae."

She took a step toward the woman who looked to be right around her own age and tried to convey unshakable confidence. "Your brother has told me a lot about you," she said graciously.

"Momma, come meet Meredith," Danae said, motioning for her mother to join her.

Taking a few short steps, the teary-eyed matriarch of the Batista house looked at the young woman standing before her. She was Krista's polar opposite, but equally stunning. A little bit skinny, but so was Danae, so who was she to judge? "Hello, Meredith," she bowed slightly. She had never been overtly friendly with strangers, but she refused to let anyone feel uncomfortable in her home. "Welcome," she smiled, pulling the red-headed woman into a tight hug.

Meredith laughed at the sheer velocity with which Diem threw herself on her son's girlfriend. She had quite a grip for such a little lady. No wonder Dave was so strong. "Thank you," she managed to croke.

"Okay, Momma," Dave spoke softly, pressing a hand against his mother's shoulder until she backed away, blushing and apologizing under her breath. "So we're going to put our things in the guest room and then I'll help you with dinner, okay?"

Diem nodded and toddled off in the direction of the kitchen, mumbling something in Tagalog, her native Filipino tongue. "What did she say?" Meredith asked, lost as the siblings chuckled.

"She's afraid she left the gravy unattended too long," Danae explained, putting an arm around Meredith's shoulder. "Tell ya what, David. Nobody puts Momma's mind at ease like you, so go help her and I will show Meredith to your room." She tried to lift the suitcase, but grunted at the weight.

Dave rolled his eyes and took he handle from his sister. "Guess we know who the bodybuilder in the family is," he teased, but Danae smacked his hand away. "You can't even lift it."

Meredith nudged her boyfriend out of the way and joined his sister in lifting the suitcase onto the first step. "Go help your mother," she instructed, pointing over her shoulder.

Shaking his head, Dave just rubbed his soul patch and glared at both of them. "See? I told you everybody was gonna gang up on me," he smiled. Meredith stuck her tongue out and Dave smacked her back side before walking toward his mother in the kitchen.

Diem padded back and forth between the island and the stove, stirring and slicing and mumbling. When she realized her son was joining her, Diem's face broke into a wide smile. "She's a very pretty girl, David. A little thin. I think maybe a little young. But very pretty."

Dave nodded and rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt up to his elbows. "She's almost thirty, Momma. She's not that young." When his mother huffed, he smiled and kissed the top of her head. "You're right, though. She's very pretty."

"And she has a good heart?" When Dave nodded, she stopped her preparations and put her hands on her hips. "Look at me, David," she instructed. He raised his eyes without question. Even as an adult, he'd never been able to disobey his mother. At least, not to her face. "She is a good woman?"

Danae would tease him to no end if she saw the tears brimming his eyes in that moment, but he couldn't help it. His father had always preached the "grown men don't cry" theory, but Dave had learned through experience that there were some things in life that transcended gender and sexuality. There were some things that deserved tears, and he was no longer ashamed to admit that.

"She is," he nodded as his mother motioned for him to bend. Wiping his tears with her dishrag, she kissed his forehead, something she hadn't done when he told her he was marrying Krista. "You have my blessing."

It was something that only a mother could know. Looking into the eyes of her child, she had seen the spark that she had always hoped he would find. This woman, no matter how little Diem actually knew about her, brought joy to her son. And that was all that concerned her aging single mother.

"Thanks, Momma," Dave smiled, returning the kiss to his mother's forehead.

Diem went back to her preparations, instructing Dave in a mixture of English and Tagalog. As long as Danae wasn't grilling Meredith for too much information, this had the potential to be the best Christmas he'd had in a long time.

He was so busy singing along with his mother and her traditional Christmas cd that he didn't even notice his sister and girlfriend entering the kitchen. Until Meredith smacked his back and called him a 'bully.'

"Hey," he jumped, turning with the electric carver still vibrating in his hand. "What the hell was that?"

Meredith put her hands on her hips and stared him down. "I can't believe you used to hold your sister down on the floor and shove tuna fish up her nose!"

Dave's eyes bulged in shocking confusion for a minute and then he turned his head slowly to his sister. "I'm holding a very sharp object," he reminded her, holding up the carver for effect. "Don't think I won't cut all that fake-ass blonde hair off."

"I just thought that Meredith deserved to know what she's getting into," she smirked like the bratty teen ager who used to follow him around the house, just trying to piss him off.

Dave flipped the power off on the knife and then turned to his girlfriend. "And did she tell you how she used to flush my socks down the toilet and then blame the back up on me? Or what about the time you put all those bite marks in Momma's piano because you didn't want to practice? And you blamed it on me?" He pulled Meredith in front of him like a shield and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "She was so mean to me," he pouted.

Meredith reached instinctively for his cheek, turning her face to mimick his puffed-out lip. "Awe," she feigned sympathy until their lips brushed against each other.

"Okay, first of all," Danae started to defend while busying herself with moving food from the stove into serving dishes. "I was eight when I bit the piano. You were eleven. I think it's time to get over that," she scolded. "And what about the time I had to spend three hours in the emergency room with a doctor that smelled like body odor and stale cigars because of that brilliant game you decided to teach me?"

Diem looked up from pie she was garnishing. "What game was this? When did we go to the emergency room?" She thought back over the memories and then nodded her head. "When you tripped over David's shoe and fell into the wall?"

Meredith watched in amusement as Dave nodded his head and assured his mother that his clumsy sister had, indeed, fallen into the wall. But Danae wasn't about to go down like that. She shook her curls and nearly dropped a spoonful of rice onto the floor as she gestured towars her brother.

While it was far less ostentatious than the Casey family holidays, she couldn't help but feel the same love and warmth between this tiny family that she had always felt between Daniel and his kids. But this was different. Not just because there weren't children running around, begging to open presents. And not just because the kitchen staff wasn't working dilligently on dinner while they all sat around sipping overpriced wine.

She was at ease here. Even as she stepped out of Dave's arms and helped Danae move dishes to the small dining room, she felt a sense of belonging that had never settled over her with the Caseys. She loved Daniel completely. And she had loved his family, to a certain degree, but she never felt like she was one of them. She was always the outsider, always the newbie, even after eight years.

"I never tripped over your shoe, Chrome Dome," Danae continued, referrencing her brother's newly shaved head. It was the same nickname she had used in high school, when he had sheered his locks for the first time. "He told me that he had this great new game for us to play," she began to explain to Meredith.

"How old were you guys?" Meredith asked, grabbing the chilling wine from the counter as Diem pointed to it, instructing her wordlessly.

Danae watched as Dave shook his head and turned back to the turkey before she continued. "I was twelve. Dave was fifteen, and twice as big as me," she emphasized as Meredith headed into the living room to fill the wine glasses. "He laid on his back on the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest. Then he tells me to rest my stomach against his smelly feet, and like a genius, I did it."

He couldn't help the laughter that escaped his throat as he carried his platter to the kitchen table. "You thought it was fun," he reminded her.

Nodding, his sister followed their mother to the table and stood behind her chair, waiting for the matriarch to take her seat before following suit. "It was. When you were just holding my hands and leg pressing me," she said. As Diem sat, Danae pulled her chair out and focused on their guest. "Then he just decided it would be more fun to let go of my hands and launch me across the room."

Meredith's mouth fell open. "You threw your sister into a wall?" she gasped, whipping her attention to her boyfriend. Without permission, a vision of Krista's bruised face lept into her mind.

"I did not **throw **her into the wall. I didn't get you anywhere near the wall," he insisted. "It's not my fault that you tripped over the shoe that happened to be on the floor where you landed," he defended.

Clearing her throat, Diem held up a hand and looked from her son to her daughter and then back again. "I'm going to eat dinner now. If you two would like to stop bickering long enough to join me, I would be glad to have you," she spoke softly, but firmly.

Smiling as the family began to pass food around the table, Meredith raised her water glass to her lips and began to relax in her seat. What she had feared would be the most difficult weekend of her life was actually turning into something quite enjoyable.

"So when do you two plan to marry?"

Meredith nearly choked on the water, and noted that Dave dropped the serving spoon from the potatoes onto his plate with a clatter. "Momma," he started, unsure of where the question had come from, let alone why his mother had chosen to bring it up now.

"What?" she asked obliviously, returning the last of the plates to it's place on the table and taking her fork, intent to continue her meal as if she hadn't asked the most uncomfortable question she could have possibly posed.

Regaining her composure before Dave found his voice, Meredith took another drink and shook her head. "We haven't really talked about it," she said honestly. Neither of their divorces were even final yet, not that they could tell her that.

"What is the problem?" Diem asked, chewing her food deliberately as she waited for their response. "David," she sighed, laying her fork on the plate. "I would like a grandson at some point, and since your sister is in no hurry to bear children," she began.

It was Danae's turn to choke on her dinner as she dropped her fork and wiped her mouth quickly. Raising her wine glass, she gulped quickly and then cleared her throat. "Momma, I don't think now is the time to start asking Dave's new girlfriend about babies and marriage. He's barely just ended his first marriage," she explained.

Dave knew that it was just his mother's nature. She had told him on more than one occasion that she worried about his welfare, and that she believed he needed a good woman to take care of him. And he knew that Danae was just trying to help. At the moment, however, he just wanted to crawl into the floor and pretend he didn't exist. He could only imagine how Meredith must be feeling.

"Is it so wrong to want a grandson? You're practically past childbearing age as it is," Diem pointed her fork at her thirty-four-year-old daughter. "And you," she turned her attention to Dave. "You keep getting thrown around for a living, keep getting injured. You're not going to be able to keep up with a baby if you do not have one soon," she pointed out. It was a worry of hers since she had seen Dave's first indie match. Each time he tore a muscle or groaned when he stood from a chair, she grew more concerned for his long-term well-being.

"Momma," Dave started to reassure her as he always did when he felt Meredith's hand on his thigh. He looked at her, noting that her face had grown rather pale. "Are you okay, kasint'ahan?" he asked gently, draping his arm over the back of her chair.

Meredith nodded and took another drink. It had been plaguing her for what felt like an eternity now. But the timing wasn't right. She couldn't tell him now, not in front of his mother, that there had been two little blue lines on the pregnancy test she had taken the night before. Their lives were too complicated, and she wasn't entirely convinced that a baby was an element she wanted to introduce into the equation just yet. Until she came to terms with the pregnancy, she couldn't tell Dave. And she certainly couldn't tell his family.

Forcing a smile, she took her fork and determined to finish her dinner without incident. "I'm fine," she promised Dave, refusing to meet his eye. She would tell him soon. Maybe Christmas next year.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Scarlet Letter**

There had been plenty of giggles and squeals of joy as the Batista family exchanged gifts after dinner. Though Dave had signed his gifts from both of them, Meredith was expecting nothing in return. They had never met her, and only knew of her what Dave had told them.

So when Danae had thrust a large, red box with an ornate gold bow at her, she had been surprised. When she opened the box to find a soft, cream-colored, cashmere pea coat, she was blown away. It would have been a generous gift except that she lived in Florida. Danae had explained, however, that Dave travelled in a lot of cold places in the winter, and that she would just have to go visit him often to make the coat worth the cash his kid sister had doled out.

Now, as she sat on the bed, Meredith blinked back another round of tears. His mother had given her a beautiful pendant, made of flawless mother-of-pearl, on a delicate silver chain. A lotus flower had been carved into the background of the charm, with the Goddess Quan Yin, believed by many Buddhists to be she who offers unconditional love, in the foreground. It was stunning, but it's meaning was resonating much deeper than she imagined Diem would have intended.

Unconditional love. To know that it didn't matter if she was on the same side of the political lines, the religious issues, or the social scene. To feel validated in her entertainment choices, career paths, and personal appearance. To be accepted in spite of her successes or failures. It was all she had ever really wanted. It was the only thing she had ever wanted to impart on a child someday.

Laying the necklace on the bedside table, Meredith laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Dave was sharing tea with his mother before she retired to bed for the night, and Meredith was glad for the time alone. There was just too much to think about.

Dave's job hardly afforded him time to spend with the daughters he already had. How in the world was he going to manage more for a new baby?

_If we stick together until the baby gets here_, she thought, grabbing a pillow and hugging it over her tummy. While she didn't want to dwell on it for too long, she had done the research. She knew the statistics and she knew they didn't bode well for she and her boyfriend. Less than ten percent of people having extramarital affairs would ever leave their spouses and marry their lovers. They had left their spouses, sure, but Meredith knew that they were a world away from getting married.

Even more frightening for Meredith was that the study also said seventy-five percent of the couples who did marry would divorce within two years. She loved Dave, and more than anything, she wanted to believe that they could beat the odds. But she couldn't help thinking all those other people probably wanted to believe the same thing.

_Too bad I didn't bother looking up the stats on couples who have babies before their damn good and ready_, she groaned as she struggled to sit.

"Eat too much?" Dave asked, clicking the bedroom door shut softly as he stripped his dress shirt from his body and gave his girlfriend and affectionate smile.

Meredith nodded and began sifting through her suitcase for some pajamas. "Your mother is an amazing cook," she complimented.

Watching her for a moment, Dave considered Meredith with a critical eye. She had smiled, contributed, and enjoyed dinner with his mother and his sister. She had put on the face and been the perfect "take me home to Momma" girlfriend. He took a slight bit of pride in knowing that it was fairly shallow, though. "What's wrong?" he asked, lowering himself to the bed and pulling her into his lap.

Meredith shook her head and refused to meet his eye. "I'm fine," she lied, clearing her throat and struggling to stand. But Dave held her firmly, running a finger down her cheek and securing her hair behind her ear. "I'm just," she started, and then shook her head and buried her face in her hands.

His heart broke for her. The only other time he had ever seen her cry, she had just told Daniel that their marriage was over. "Are you leaving me?" he asked, hoping to ease the tension in the room.

But his joke fell flat when Meredith turned her wide eyes to him and put a palm on his face. "I'm pregnant," she whispered.

Dave looked surprised, but no more so than Meredith looked. She clearly hadn't meant to say anything, and if he'd been able to form a sentence, maybe he could have asked her why. As it were, his thoughts raced through his brain, almost connecting and then sailing past each other. He felt her stand from his lap, but didn't look up.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she growled, standing and running her fingers through her hair.

"Is it mine?" Dave asked, finally raising her eyes to meet hers. She looked as though he had smacked her, but Dave just stood and rested his hands on his hips. "How far along are you?"

She sighed and shrugged. "Six weeks? Eight weeks? I don't know for sure. I just know I was late, and I thought it might be stress, so I didn't take a test. Then I was late again, so I took the test yesterday and it came out positive."

"We need to get you to the doctor as soon as we get home. Find out when you got pregnant," Dave spoke, staring at the floor and trying to gather his thoughts. Maybe she wanted him to be more supportive, but he couldn't remember his own name at the moment, let alone worry about what she wanted him to be.

She realized that she hadn't really been anticipating a reaction from him. Maybe she wanted him to be happy, to let her know that this was the best thing that could have happened to them. Or maybe she was glad he was reacting the same way she had. Except for the paternity issue.

"I didn't even think about that," she sighed, sinking to the edge of the bed and running her fingers through her hair. She had only been separated for about a month. Though she had been planning to leave Daniel before that, she had still slept with her husband. She'd been having sex with both of them at the time she probably got pregnant. "Shit, what if this baby is Daniel's? What does that mean?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "But Daniel had E.D., right?" Meredith shrugged and then nodded, as though it wasn't definite. "Can a guy still make a baby when he can barely get it up?"

Meredith shrugged and thought about the question. "I think so," she mumbled. "I know he could ejaculate," she stated, but Dave's face scrunched and he held his hand up. "Sorry," Meredith offered him a tiny smile.

Rubbing his hand over the top of his stubbly head, Dave looked from his girlfriend, to the floor, and back to her. He loved her. He'd just told his mother that he thought he would marry her someday, but he hadn't planned on that day being soon. When he was younger, he had been known for falling in love way too fast and getting serious way too soon. But he didn't have a failed marriage and two daughters to worry about back then.

"Do you wanna keep it?" he asked.

Meredith sank to the edge of the bed and sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "Part of me says 'no way in hell' and part of me says 'it's not the baby's fault.' I just," she shook her head and looked to him, her eyes pleading for help with the decision, "I don't know."

Dave sighed, one hand resting on his hip while the other stroked his soul patch slowly. He suddenly felt exhausted. "I don't even know what to say," he said flatly, as if speaking to the floor. He kind of liked the idea of having a baby with her. But he also knew that it would add nothing but more problems. The last thing they needed at this point was more problems.

She drew her legs up onto the bed and laid back against the pillow, curled in a fetal position. "Do you ever feel like someone's trying to keep us apart?"

Moving to her side, Dave leaned over the bed and pulled her hair back from her cheek. Pressing his lips to her soft skin, softly ran his thumb over her jaw and whispered in her ear. "I think someone is testing just how bad we want this."

Pouting her bottom lip out, Meredith rolled over and gazed up into his dark eyes. "I'm sick of tests," she whined. When Dave smiled and ran his finger over her full, bottom lip, her expression turned more serious. "Do you think we'll pass?"

He nodded and dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. "I hope so," he answered honestly before standing and looking around the room. "You try to get some sleep. I'm gonna go take a walk."

"Dave, it's eleven o'clock," Meredith protested. He only chuckled in response, grabbing his Harley jacket from the closet near the doorway of their room. "Make sure you wear gloves," she instructed, watching his every move.

Slipping the jacket over his shoulders, Dave fished his leather gloves out of the pockets and put them on so she could see. "Happy now, Mom?" he asked pointedly.

The words punched her gut, but Meredith nodded and stretched out on the bed. _Mom_. She was already acting like a mother. _Shit_. "Thank you," she answered, rolling over when he shut the door behind him.

Dave zipped his jacket and moved as quietly as he could through the house. The last thing he needed was his mom waking up and asking what was on his mind. He would just sneak down the stairs and take a short walk to clear his mind. Or maybe drive over to the old bar and throw back a few drinks with the boys.

"Hey, big brother," Danae's voice interrupted his thoughts as soon as he stepped onto the porch.

Turning toward his sister, he smiled. She was huddled on the porch swing, wrapped in a huge coat and a blanket, heavy gloves on her hands as she held a over-sized, steaming cup of something. "What are you doin' out here?" Dave asked, his hands on his hips as he watched her in amusement.

"Just enjoying the beautiful DC weather," she answered dryly.

They had both lived in Washington early in their lives, and then moved to San Francisco with their father when their parents divorced. While Dave ran into some teouble, driving him back to DC while he was in high school, Danae had fallen in love with the West Coast.

She relocated to Los Angeles, working as the Director of Public Relations with one of the major movie studios. She rarely got a chance to come back to Washington, but when she did, she always complained about how cold it was. "Actually," she responded as he began to lower himself onto the swing beside her, "I find it best to enjoy hot chocolate when it's cold enough to really appreciate it," she said, smiling when he stole part of her blanket and draped it over his legs.

"Uh huh," Dave nodded knowingly. "So what are you really doin' out here?"

The characteristic smile faded from her lips as she took another drink and blinked back tears from her eyes. "Jake's not just visiting his family for the holiday," she answered softly. "We're kind of on a trial separation," she admitted, feeling like a weight had been lifted in the mere admission of the secret she'd been holding in since her arrival.

Dave leaned back on the seat and rested his hand on his sister's knee. "I'm sorry, Sweetie," he whispered.

"I can't tell Momma," she sniffled. "Not right now."

_Not when you've already ended your marriage_. Of course, she didn't say it, but Dave knew that's what she meant. Danae had a habit of leading him to her conclusion, but refusing to beat him over the head with it. It was one of his favorite things about her. "Think there's a chance you'll work it out?"

She took another drink and sniffled against the cold. "I'm desparately clinging to the romantic ideal." The ever-present glimmer of hope was shining in her sad eyes. "I don't know, though. He's really wrapped up in his work right now. I'm not sure he really wants a wife weighing him down."

Danae's husband, Jake, was a geneologist, and Dave couldn't, as hard as he tried, figure out what about his work could take up so much of his time. More than that, he couldn't fathom why studying a bunch of people's ancestors could be more important than spending time with his baby sister.

Cracking his knuckles, Dave raised an eyebrow at Danae. "Guess I'll have to pay him a little visit, huh?"

Danae smiled brightly and nodded, holding her coffee mug just a little bit closer to her chest. "Right now, I would love you for that. But I think that would pretty much nail the coffin shut on our relationship," she sighed, reaching out to rest a hand on his forearm. "I'll keep holding on to the sliver of a chance that it will still work out." Shifting in her seat, she snuggled next to her brother's shoulder and sighed contentedly when he wrapped his arm around her. "Meredith's nice. I like her," she said, hoping to change the subject.

"You do?" Dave asked, his voice clearly surprised.

Danae smacked him playfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Dave settled back against the seat and rested his hand against Danae's shoulder. In quiet moments like this, he wished they were careless teenagers again. Things were so much easier back then. "You have never liked anyone I have ever dated," he poitned out.

But Danae shook her head and took another drink of her cocoa. "That is so not true," she insisted. "I liked some of the girls you dated. I just didn't like the one you married."

He thought about Krista for a moment, and how different, how relaxed, this one had been in comparison to the others. "Good thing you don't have to worry about that anymore, huh?"

"I'm sorry about the divorce, Dave," Danae said, her voice low and sincere. "I might not have been the world's biggest Krista fan, but I'm sorry for you and the girls."

He just nodded, accepting her condolescences while his thoughts drifted to other issues. His mother and his sister had always been his most trusted confidantes, but he really wasn't sure he could tell anyone about Meredith's pregnancy. He wasn't sure he needed to drag her into something that might not even happen.

"Alright, what's goin' on with you and the girlfriend?" Danae asked suddenly. When Dave turned a surprised look to her, she laughed. "Come on. You weren't quiet at dinner, or after dinner. Then, all of the sudden, you show up down here, instead of up there in the bed with her and I'm not supposed to think something just happened?"

"We're goin' through something," he answered vaguely.

She waited for a moment, but he gave her no other response. "Um, okay," Danae started, leaning forward to set her empty mug on the wicker ottoman before leaning back against Dave's warm body once again. "I know we kinda have this bond and everything, but I can't read your mind. And even if I could, I know I wouldn't want to," she teased, resting her hand against his leg. "So you're gonna have to give me a little more here."

"She's pregnant," he said, the answer popping out before he could reign it in. "And I don't know if we want to keep the baby or not."

Exhaling a deep breath, Danae tried to wrap her head around that piece of information. "Wow," she said finally. "You sure don't waste any time, do you?" she teased slightly.

Dave couldn't help smiling, but if he was going to talk to his sister about this, she had to know everything. "It might not be mine," he said.

"You seem pretty relaxed for someone who's girlfriend has been cheating on him," she responded, her tone implying that she knew there was more to the story.

Shaking his head, Dave met his sister's eye and waited for the "I told you so" look to surface. "She wasn't cheating on me," he corrected.

The realization that had been bubbling just under the surface became clear in her sweet face. "She's cheating with you," she breathed, receiving only a nod in response. "Is she married?"

"Was. She filed for divorce a few weeks ago. Around the same time I did," he filled her in, feeling somewhat better at letting her know what was going on.

Sighing, Danae ran her thick gloves over her hair. "Dave," she started.

"I know," he interrupted, already hearing her words in his head.

Turning to the side, she held his chin in her hands like she had when they were younger and she was trying to get his attention. "Well, I'm gonna say it anyway. Be careful." Her brown eyes were wide and filled with concern. "The odds are against you." He nodded. "Momma says she sees a light in you with this one. One that wasn't there with Krista. And I like Meredith. I really do like her." Releasing his chin, she wrapped her thin hands around one of his biceps. "But I love you."

Tilting his head slightly, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Love you, too, little sister."

They sat in silence for awhile, just watching the snow glisten under the moonlight while they held each other and tried to remember a time when their lives had been more about annoying the hell out of each other, and less about sorting the pieces of broken relationships.

"Do you want this baby to be yours?" Danae asked suddenly.

Dave shook his head. The truth would make him sound like an ass, but he knew better than to try to hide it from his sister. If anyone in the world would recognize it, it was Danae. "I don't know," he admitted. "I barely have time for the two that I already have, D. And I adore Meredith, but we're just starting to really get to know each other."

"And you're thinkin' it'd just be a hell of a lot easier if she didn't have it," Danae spoke the words she knew he was afraid to mutter.

He nodded and then cringed, standing from the seat and running his hands over his face for what felt like the millionth time in the last hour. He growled and looked to his sister with terrified eyes. "What the hell kind of father am I? I'm standing here wishing that my girlfriend would just kill our kid so things will be easier for us." He was ashamed that the thought was even crossing his mind, but more ashamed that he still believed it.

They had an unspoken agreement and they never offered advice if they didn't have life experience to back it up. "It won't make things easier," she whispered, staring at her fingers while the realization of her words sunk in for him. "You think it will, but it doesn't. It won't just go away.

The situation sucks, Dave." Blinking back tears, she tried to push her life's biggest mistake to the back of her mind. "And I'm not gonna tell you that it's not the way to go, because that's totally up to you guys," she wiped her eyes and looked up into her brother's beautiful brown orbs. Moments ago, they had echoed the fear in his voice, but now they held nothing but compassion for his little sister. "But if you're lookin' for an easy out? That's not it."

Dave watched her face, infinitely impressed with the way she could fully embrace the pain in one instant, and then sniffle it away and put on her "brave" face the next. He had been the one to drive her to the clinic that day, the first day of her senior year in high school. In a normal situation, when his head wasn't spinning with thoughts of his own issues, he would have remembered, and known better than to bring it up. "Danae," he started.

But she shook her head and stood. "It was a long time ago, Dave. I've come to terms with it. Doesn't mean I like it, or that I'll ever forget it, but I have made peace with myself." Rubbing her hands together, she grabbed her empty coffee mug and smiled. "I'm about to freeze my ass off," she announced suddenly, moving to him and stretching onto the tips of her toes. Pressing a kiss to his cheek, she rubbed his back reassuringly. "You know where to find me if you need to talk."

When she was back in the house, Dave sank back to the swing and dropped his head into his hands. Ultimately, the decision would be Meredith's, but he knew there was a pretty good chance that the baby was his. They weren't the most careful couple in the world, and he knew that they had a lot more sex than she and Daniel had been having lately. And he knew her well enough to know she wasn't going to make that choice without heavily considering his opinion.

Now he just had to figure out what his opinion was.


	14. Chapter 14

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: I just wanted to say thanks to you guys for all of your reviews on this story. I have to say, I think it's one of my favorites, and it means the world to me that you're all enjoying it! **

Pushing the door of her condo open, Meredith gratefully dropped her bags onto the floor in the entry and let out an exhausted sigh.

They had managed to get through the weekend without talking about the impending baby issue, but she knew that it was only a front for his mother. The silence in the car had been suffocating, as though the proverbial elephant was seated right between them. There was so much to say, but they just couldn't seem to find a way to say it.

Leaning against the front door until it clicked, Dave tucked his hands in his pockets and hovered in the entry, as though he needed to be invited in, as though he hadn't practically lived here for the last month. "Are you tired? Do you need something to drink? Can I get you anything?"

Meredith shook her head and motioned toward the living room. She wasn't confrontational by nature, but she needed to know how he was feeling. Of course, she knew that the final decision was her own, but his input was important to the future of their relationship. If he ever gave her any input in the first place.

When Dave sat on the couch, she settled in next to him and turned, resting her hands on his thigh. The muscles tensed and jumped under his jeans, and it only made her more nervous. "Do you want this baby?" she asked.

Everything he had been thinking on the way home seemed to fly out the window now that he was looking at her. How could he tell the woman he loved that he wanted her to abort the baby, that they needed more time to get to know each other? How did he tell her that he wasn't sure they were ready to raise a life together? "I don't know," he said honestly.

Meredith cleared her throat and looked at her hands. "Do you not know? Or do you just not want to tell me?" She leaned back against the arm of the couch and twisted her fingers together nervously. "Just be honest with me."

"I'm scared," he said without hesitation. "Honestly? I'm scared that I don't have enough time with the babies I've already got. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to find time for another one. And I'm scared that we've barely started this thing, that we barely know each other. I'm scared of what that means for this kid," he motioned to her belly. "And I'm scared that it's not even my kid."

"Dave," Meredith started. She had asked for honest, but hadn't expected him to be so forthcoming. He wasn't usually a man of many words, even when she was trying to get him to speak.

But he hadn't confessed his inner most feelings so that she could dispell his fears. "Meredith, it's a possiblity. My greatest fear about you having this kid is that I'm going to watch you being pregnant, that I'm going to fall even more in love with you, and with our baby, and then it's all going to be taken away from me." His hands were shaking against his thighs as he spoke, as though every ounce of his personal control was being used to reign in whatever emotions were threatening to overtake him.

With one hand on her stomach, Meredith raised the other to Dave's face and ran it over the freshly-shaved skin. The silky smoothness of his face made her smile as she bit her bottom lip. "I've been thinking about that," she admitted. "As far as I'm concerned, this baby is yours," she told him. "Whatever the paternity results may be, you're the one who is going to take care of me while I'm pregnant. You're the one who's going to have numb hands when I'm done with horrifying labor pains. This kid is ours, Dave."

He wanted to believe her, but the reality of the situation was screaming in his brain. It didn't matter if she considered the baby his or not. Daniel wasn't going see it that way. And if he chose to fight, the court wasn't going to see it that way, either. Her desire to make it work, to move forward with their lives, even in the face of the challenges, was one of his favorite things about her. It also frustrated him to no end.

"Does that mean you've decided to keep the baby?" he clarified. When Meredith nodded, he cleared his throat. "You know this isn't going to be easy, right?"

She nodded and stood. "Of course," she smiled, hoping that her enthusiasm would rub off on him. "But you love me, right? And I love you. And it's unpredictable, and it's impossible, but it's the hand that life has delt us. And I just think we should make the best of it." When he continued staring at the floor, she moved to his side and took his hand. "It's going to be okay, Dave. It has to be."

But he wasn't convinced. Standing, he shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "You don't know what it's like to prepare for a baby," he reminded her, thinking back to the struggles he and Krista had lived through. Sure, he had more money now, but that wasn't going to make everything bubblegum and roses. "What happens if you go into premature labor and I'm not here to take you to the hospital?"

"I'll take myself? I'll call a friend? Ambulance?" Meredith suggested, her thoughts swirling. Was he angry with her for making the decision? Or just for making it without further consulting him? Was this a deal breaker? Could she still change her mind?

Dave just laughed cynically and shook his head. "I'm serious, Meredith. There are going to be hormone swings, and your ankles are going to swell. And you might get put on bed rest at some point?" Pacing the living room, he continued to rattle off the negatives. "I would love to be able to help you prepare a nursery, but we don't even live together. What are you gonna do? Tear down your studio? Just throw a crib in your bedroom? With the girls' bedrooms at my house, I don't have room for a nursery, either."

"Stop it!" Meredith called, holding her hand up to interrupt him. "Just stop it," she insisted, standing and resting her hands on her hips. "So I haven't thought of everything yet. I'm sorry that I haven't been through this like you have. And, yeah, I'm kind of excited about having my first child with a man that I love, that I hope to have a future with. If you don't want to, Dave, just tell me that you don't want to. If you're having second thoughts about us, or about anything really, just tell me." Looking at him with pleading eyes, she bit her lip again. "Just stop talking down to me."

"I'm not talking down, Meredith. I'm trying to make you see that this is not going to be all onsies and baby rattles here. There are real issues that we have to discuss," he insisted. Though he knew there was an eight year age difference between them, this was the first time he had actually noticed it. She hadn't some of the things he had, and the fact that she was refusing to listen to his advice irritated him. "Just listen to me for a second."

But she shook her head and stomped her foot. She knew she was being childish, but she was tired of people telling her that she didn't know how to handle a situation. Daniel had done it for years, and she would be damned if she let Dave start doing it now. "Why don't you try listening to me for a second, okay?" He drew back slightly, but opened his hands and motioned for her to continue. "I'm scared, too, Dave. I'm terrified. You think I don't question what kind of mother I'm going to be? What kind of example I've made out my life? I don't even have a damn job and I'm supposed to provide for a kid? My family doesn't even know that Daniel and I are divorcing, and now I'm supposed to call 'em up and be like "Hey, I'm havin' a baby with the man I left my husband for"?

"Yeah, there's a slim chance this kid might be Daniel's. There's a pretty great chance it will be yours," she spoke from her heart, her arms flailing as she let the words trip over her lips without much thought. "All I know for sure is that this baby is mine, Dave. And whether one of you steps up to help me raise it, or if you decide to turn back to the life you used to have, I don't get that option. I don't get to walk away from this!

"The question isn't whether I understand how hard it's going to be, Dave. Do you understand that I have to make this work somehow? With or without you, I have to find the best way to make this work. If looking at the positive side so I don't absolutely lose my mind under the magnitude of it all is what I have to do, then that's what I'm going to do. Because this is my life now!"

Tears were racing down her cheeks, dripping off of her chin and falling onto her pink tee shirt. Pushing her hair behind her ears, she crossed her arms over her stomach and tried to quell the shaking in her shoulders. Whether her outburst changed his mind or not, she needed to say what was in her head.

Dave stood and put his hands on her shoulders, lifting her chin with his finger until her watery eyes met his. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. He didn't want to make her promises he couldn't keep. There were a lot of challenges in raising a child, and their situation would only amplify those stuggles.

He dragged his finger along her jawline, carefully tucking her bright hair behind her ears. Cupping her cheek in his large hand, he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. His parents' divorce. His troubles with the law. His struggle to break into wrestling. His climb to the top of the WWE mountain. Nothing in his life had been easy, and he had been tempted, but he had never given up. "It's my life now, too."

---------------

Dave and Meredith spent the next two months adjusting to their life together. Though Dave wasn't home often, he made the best of the time he had. Meredith spent Wednesday nights at his home, so he could sleep in his own bed. He picked Rebekah and Eden up from school on Thursday, helped them with their homework, and dropped them off at school on Friday morning. He then accompanied Meredith to her doctor's appointments and conducted phone interviews and other business from his home office.

Meredith got to know Dave's girls better over movie nights and trips to the mall on Friday nights before the Batistas dropped her off at home and Dave spent his last night at home with his daughters. Krista picked them up on Saturday mornings, and then Meredith drove Dave to the airport for his next week of work.

The schedule was hectic, and frustrating at time, but they were starting to get into a rhythm. Though she still had no stable job, Jaden had bought a couple of her paintings at a reasonable price, and she had done some freelance design work for a small boutique in the local mall for extra cash.

His co-workers hadn't liked her when they were just dating, and she braced herself for the backlash that would undoubtedly crash around them in the wake of the baby news. To her surprise, nobody really seemed to care. She still wasn't holding her breath for any dinner invitations, but the evil eyes and the judgemental whispers seemed to have subsided.

Meredith was almost five months into her pregnancy when Dave dropped a bombshell idea on her.

_They were cuddled on the couch, watching Law and Order after dinner, when Dave ran his fingers up her arm and rested his chin on the top of her head. "What do you think about doing some househunting on Friday?" _

_She continued focusing on the television. "I thought we were just gonna sell this place and live in yours," she responded._

_"We could. I just thought maybe we could find some place a little bigger. I want Bekah and Edie to have their own rooms. And I want this little guy to have **his **own place," he said, rubbing his hand over her growing womb as he spoke. "And maybe we can find a tri-level, so you can still have your studio," he added, knowing full well the response that would grab._

_Turning in his arms, Meredith beamed. Her reaction was due, in part, to the fact that she really wanted to keep her studio. But it was also because he knew that. For eight years, Daniel had pushed her art to the back burner, dismissing it as a childish fascination. Dave embraced it. _

_"I think that's a brilliant idea," she clapped her hands and leaned forward, as much as she could, to press a light kiss to his lips. "Even if the baby is a **girl**," she challenged._

_"Yeah, we'll see," he responded. Grabbing her, Dave laid her back against sofa, hovering above her. He was acutely aware of her hands on his chest and her tee shirt-covered baby bump against his bare stomach. "We'll find something perfect for us," he promised, dropping a sweet kiss on her forehead before shifting to lay behind her and pull his girlfriend's back against his chest. Running his hands over her belly, he sighed and kissed the back of her neck. "Will you do me a favor?"_

_She mumbled a response. At the moment, he could ask her to rob a bank. He could ask her to sell everything and move to Namibia. "Anything," she sighed, weaving her fingers through his against her warm skin._

_"Come to Indianapolis with me this weekend."_

_Her shoulders stiffened automatically at what he was really asking. It had been nearly three months since she told her parents that she had left Daniel for another man. She had tried, of course, to explain that her marriage had been dead long before she left it, but it didn't really matter to them. She could have fixed it if she really wanted to. This was just another example of how Meredith liked to give up when things got too hard._

_Showing up on their doorstep with a bun in the oven was a bad idea on so many levels. "I can't," she said simply, trying to re-focus her attention on the television screen. Maybe he would just drop it. _

_But Dave wasn't known to just "drop it." Sighing, he tightened his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You know you have to tell them at some point."_

_He was right. She knew he was right. She also knew that she wasn't ready yet. "Does it have to be this weekend?" Struggling to sit, she gave him the smile she knew he was hard-pressed to resist. "Couldn't we just invite them to the baby's baptism?"_

Now, standing outside of the Crisis Pregnancy center her mother ran, Meredith wondered if the baptism idea didn't have some merit. She had been here so many times in her younger years, looked at so many pamphlets, and been warned so many times about the dangers of unprotected sex. Stepping through the door in her newest materinity dress seemed sacreligious somehow.

"Hi there, Sweetheart," the woman behind the desk spoke, glancing at her computer screen. "Did you have an appointment?"

Meredith shook her head. But when she opened her mouth to explain, a voice stopped her cold. "I would assume she's here to see me."

Raising her eyes, Meredith offered a small wave at the petite woman with blonde hair and kind eyes. "Hi, mom."


	15. Chapter 15

**The Scarlet Letter**

Brenda King was the epitome of style and grace. She was rarely seen in something other than her signature business suits, and she never left home without full make up and jewelry. Her nails were perpetually perfectly manicured, and her graying hair was dyed to sun kissed perfection.

While many in the community found her collected demeanor soothing, and her warm smile comforting, it had always been a bit disarming to Meredith. It wasn't fake, she could attest to that. Her mother was genuinely happy and downright serene. But she was also a strict disciplinarian.

"Have you had lunch?" Brenda asked her eldest child, disappearing into her office when Meredith shook her head. She reappeared in seconds, hobo-style handbag over her shoulder. "I don't believe I have any appointments this afternoon, do I, Nancy?" she asked the woman at the front desk. When the elderly woman shook her head, Brenda nodded and offered a smile. "Page me if you need me, okay?"

Meredith said nothing as the pair walked toward the car, suddenly feeling all the more out of place in her personally designed, pink and black, plaid schoolgirl's dress and hot pink converse high tops. Her hair was pulled away from her face in a messy ponytail and she tightened it, watching her feet, as she followed her mother to the parking lot.

"How about Chinese?" Brenda asked as she unlocked the doors of her sedan and watched Meredith nod as she climbed into the passenger's seat. Though she hadn't seen her daughter in nearly a year, the sadness that seemed to plague the young woman was still ever present. Though Meredith would never truly believe it, Brenda worried about her more than she would ever know.

"I like that color," Meredith finally spoke, motioning to her mother's lavender nail polish before returning to her previous task of chewing on her lip.

Neither of them said another word as Brenda navigated the car through the quiet streets of their sleepy little town. Meredith had never been comfortable there, always longing for something bigger, something better than the small community had to offer. While Brenda was immensely happy with her life, and her home, she could understand her outspoken child's need for independence. She had been as supportive and encouraging as she could be, but it never seemed to be enough for Meredith. She just never seemed to understand their perspective.

As she stepped out of the car, Meredith couldn't fight the smile that tweaked the corners of her lips as she looked up at the sign over the door of Chin's, her favorite Chinese restaurant. It wasn't world-renowned, and it wasn't four-star, but it was damn sure the best she'd ever tasted. It was the one thing she found herself missing about her hometown, when she was missing anything at all.

Holding the door open for her mother, Meredith watched in silence as Brenda greeted the waitress and asked how her family was doing. It just oozed out of her, this maternal energy that people couldn't help responding to. It had always irritated her growing up, the way her parents couldn't go anywhere without striking up a conversation with half the store or restaurant. But now that she was carrying a child of her own, she couldn't help wondering if her child would recognize the same kindness in her.

Once seated, Brenda sipped her water and looked at Meredith with concerned eyes. "It's good to see you again, Honey," she said.

She hadn't intended to roll her eyes, but she doubted very much that her mother was glad to see her in her current state. "Thanks," she said wryly.

"I have to admit, though, I'm a little bit confused," Brenda shrugged, resting against the high-backed seat behind her. "You could have told me about this over the phone," she added.

Nodding, Meredith chewed her lunch carefully. As if God himself was telling Brenda exactly what to say, she had arrived at the doorstep of the Dave issue within minutes of sitting down to their meal. Of course, she could always choose not to say anything about him, to leave him out completely.

"Well, I was close by," she said, knowing that her mother would never just leave that information without further questioning. While friendly and petite, Brenda King was also incredibly intimidating. Though she had an incredibly compassionate spirit for others, Meredith had always felt her mother was judging her somehow.

"Because you just took a wrong turn off the freeway?" Brenda asked, smiling slightly as she tipped her glass. When Meredith returned the smile, her mother took a bite of her rice and then cleared her throat. "So who is he?"

Taking extra time in tearing her crab rangoon into tiny pieces, Meredith tried to think of how to explain Dave to her mother. There was nothing that she could say that would make it okay in Brenda's eyes. "His name is Dave Batista," she answered honestly. "He's 37."

Brenda raised an eyebrow as she concentrated on her plate. "Well, that's a step closer, I suppose," she inserted. She had never tried to hide the fact that she had a problem with the age gap between her daughter and the man she had chosen to marry. "What does he do?"

She couldn't contain the giggle that bubbled up in the back of her throat. When she was younger, one of her father's friends, another preacher, had taken it upon himself to boycott professional wrestling. He had used his pulpit as a vehicle to preach against the sex and violence that this company, the World Wrestling Federation, promoted.

To his credit, Meredith's father had just rolled his eyes as he told his family of the situation over dinner. _ "You have to pick your battles," he had said. "In the long run, what do a bunch of steriod-injected muscle heads have to do with my call from God?" _Though they weren't close any longer, Meredith couldn't deny that she had once felt an incredible bond with her father, and she had always respected his ability to take a stand for what he believed without indicting pop culture in the process.

"Meredith?" Brenda asked, drawing her daughter out of her thoughts.

After another sip of her water, Meredith shook her head. "He's a professional wrestler," she admitted, watching her mother smile at the same memory. "Think I should invite Don to the show tonight?"

Brenda shook her head and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Oh, gracious," she chuckled slightly. "How far along are you?"

Resting her hand on her bulging belly, Meredith looked straight at her mother and determined not to back down. Lita had been right. Nobody else would accept her relationship with Dave if she didn't. "Twenty-two weeks," she said.

"Are you keeping the baby? Or are you adopting out?" Brenda asked, slipping into crisis counselor mode seamlessly.

"We're keeping it."

Brenda nodded and looked at her plate before raising her eyes back to her daughter. "And does," she stopped, considering, "What's his name?"

"Dave," Meredith reminded.

"Does Dave intend to help you for the long haul?" she asked.

She knew the question being raised, and she knew the reaction that it would garner. Bracing herself for the look of disappointment, Meredith gripped the seat with both hands. "We're not ready to get married yet, Mom. His daughters are still getting to know me and we don't really feel like we've gotten to know each other enough yet."

With a small smile, Brenda gave another nod. "So you're taking things slowly then?"

Sucking in a harsh breath, Meredith blinked. "I deserve that," she acknowledged. "I know it's not ideal, Mom," she started.

But Brenda held up a hand and leaned forward, taking her daughter's hand across the table. "Are you happy, Meredith?"

Licking her lips, Meredith knew this was the moment she had been dreading. This is where her mother told her that all they wanted for her was for her to find happiness. All they wanted was to believe that she was truly happy in her life. Which, translated, meant that they wanted her to live the way they had always imagined she would.

"Mom," she sighed, turning her hands and grasping her mother's fingers. "I have made mistakes. I've made bad decisions. But I've made some good ones, too," she smiled. "You think with your head, Mom, and you make your choices based on what is the smartest decision for you. I admire that," she admitted. They had their differences, so many of them, but her mother's toughness was always something that she would aspire to achieve for herself.

"And you make yours with your heart," Brenda interrupted. Though Meredith swore no one in her family understood her, Brenda knew her daughter better than the young woman thought she did. "You are passionate, Meredith. You always have been, and I love that about you. But you can't make all of your choices completely devoid of any thinking."

Suddenly, she was fifteen again. Her mother's tone said that she would never be older than that, never have the capacity to think beyond high school. And she couldn't take it anymore. "I'm not stupid," she stated coolly, leaning back in the booth.

Brenda shook her head. "I know you're not. You're so smart, Meredith," she affirmed. "I just think that you're searching for happiness in places that you'll never find it."

"I'm happy, Mom. I have a wonderful boyfriend, and I'm about to have a beautiful baby. I've sold some paintings, and designed some clothes for an independent boutique," she listed, "and I've talked to a few other people about some lines for their shops. I'm really, really happy. And I don't expect you to accept my relationship with Dave. I just really hope that you can accept your grandchild."

Laying a few bills on the table to cover the check, Brenda stood and smoothed her hands over her dress pants. She didn't speak again until they were seated in the car, her fingers gripping the steering wheel until the knuckles were white. She worried about her eldest child to no end, spending endless nights crying for her well-being. At times, it seemed as though they would never see eye to eye. But at other times, she felt she could understand everything that Meredith was feeling.

When she finally stopped the car in front of the clinic, she killed the engine, but turned to her daughter without opening the door. "I haven't always liked, or approved of, your choices," Brenda spoke, trying to swallow the tears that were threatening to bubble up. "But I have always loved you, Meredith," she managed to say through the strain in her voice. "And I always will."

Meredith nodded and wiped her eyes. "I love you, too, Mom." She did. Though she would never be comfortable spending time around them, she knew that she loved them.

Nodding, Brenda reached across the console and rested her hand on her daughter's growing belly. "And you don't have to worry about it, Sweetheart. This baby will be loved just as much as his, or her, mother is," she promised. "I know your father would love to see you," she added.

There was a time when she would have run, arms outstretched, into her father's arms. She would have called him as soon as she crossed the state line. But she just wasn't ready to see the disappointment in his eyes. She knew that her mother was hurt by recent "developments," but she knew that her father would be heartbroken.

Checking her watch, she shook her head and pushed the door of the car open. "I have to get back to Indy," she said, unsure of whether or not she should send her love.

Brenda stepped out of the car and walked around the front, embracing her daughter hesitantly. It wasn't warm and it probably never would be again, but she felt somewhat better simply feeling Meredith back in her arms again. "Drive safely," she advised, giving her daughter one more smile before retreating back into her office.

Meredith walked to the car slowly, unsure of what to make of the interaction she'd just had. It had been pretty much what she had expected. She knew that her mother wouldn't be overjoyed, but she hadn't yelled or called Meredith a child, either. In her opinion, it was pretty much a draw.

Once she was back on the highway, Meredith grabbed her phone to call Dave. She'd been given strict instructions to let him know how it went as soon as she left her mother's office. More importantly, she felt as though she really needed to hear his voice.

But before she could dial, she heard a familiar ring tone that made her heart drop. Licking her lips, she answered timidly. "Hello?"

"Is it true?" Daniel asked, his voice stern and conflicted.

Swallowing hard, she blinked back the tears that arose immediately. "Is what true?" she asked, hoping against everything that he didn't know. She had done everything in her power to avoid him, and had even refused to babysit Emma once she started showing. Until she knew for sure that the baby was Dave's, she didn't want the drama that her ex-husband would bring.

Clearing his throat, Daniel spoke again. "Are you pregnant?"

"Where. . . where did you hear that?" she asked, easing the car off of the nearest exit ramp and into an old gas station parking lot. Her hands were shaking and she felt like she was about to vomit.

There was a cold chuckle at Daniel's end of the phone. "I should think that you would have learned by now that children are not stupid, Meredith. Emma may only be three, but even she can hear you on the telephone," he spoke condescendingly.

"I haven't watched Emma in months," she stammered. Jaden had brought the young spitfire over a few times after he had visited Meredith's home, but that had been months ago. And she had been extremely careful not to mention the baby in front of the young girl.

"Apparently," Daniel said, heaving a heavy sigh in her ear, "she heard you telling someone that the baby was fine. She is now asking when she can see Meredith and the baby again." There was a long, awkward silence. "So it's true then? You are pregnant?"

Meredith cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her eyes, ignoring the beep that told her Dave was calling on the other line. "It's true, Daniel," she whispered.

Another silence followed her admission, though Daniel filled it with a few grunts and sighs. When he finally spoke, his voice was smaller, more broken. "Since you haven't watched Emma in a few months, I would assume you're four or five months along?"

"Four and a half," she confirmed.

He didn't have to take time to do the math. He had already done it all before placing the call. "This baby could be mine," he stated. "And if it is," he began.

But Meredith cut him off. She couldn't bear his tone any longer. Not after the lunch she'd just had. "If it is, we will deal with that after the baby is born," she informed him with as much authority as she could muster. "Until then, Dave and I are taking care of everything," she assured him.

"Do you have medical insurance?" he asked.

"We are taking care of it, Daniel," she insisted, knowing exactly what he was hinting at.

Ever the predictable one, Daniel said, "I would like to pay for your care until the paternity test is done, Meredith. It would make me feel better, knowing that this child had the best care, on the chance that it may be ours."

She shook her head and put the car into gear again. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," she declined his offer as she eased back into the highway traffic. She knew what he was trying to do, but she couldn't let him have even an inch of room back into her life. Things were complicated enough without his overbearing assistance.

"I have a right to be a part of our child's life, Meredith," he stated.

Sometimes she wondered if he knew just how transparent he was. His casual use of the plural pronoun was not lost on his ex-wife. He had used it every time she'd refused to surrender her birth control during their marriage. It was as if he was trying to remind her that they were a team, that she had no right to make any decision that would affect both of them without his input.

"You do," she conceded, no longer frightened by his opinion of her, or his berating. He was no longer her first priority, whether he realized that or not. "If the child is yours, and we both know that the chances of that being the case are slim, then you have every right to be an active part of his or her life. Dave and I have already talked about that, and you will be given every opportunity to be the father that this kid deserves.

"But until then, Daniel, this baby isn't yours. This baby isn't Dave's. Until I know paternity for sure, this baby is mine," she spoke with determination, an overwhelming protectiveness coursing through her body at the thought of someone else trying to take that from her. "I'm decorating the nursery. I'm taking the vitamins. I'm reading the books. And I'm paying the bills." Taking a deep breath, she smiled slightly. Maybe she could stand up to her fears. Maybe she'd be an okay mother after all.

"If you need anything, Meredith," Daniel finally spoke, "you know that you can call me. Any time."

She assured him that she knew that and disconnected the call, feeling much better than she thought she should. Meeting her mother had made her feel fifteen again, but the confrontation with Daniel had seemingly propelled her through time. For the first time since long before she had left her husband, she felt like an independent woman.

Hitting the speed dial button, she hummed along with the radio as she raised the phone to her ear and waiting for an answer.

"How'd it go?" Dave asked anxiously.

Meredith chuckled, a clear image in her mind of Dave pacing the hotel room like a caged animal, holding his phone and demanding that it ring. "About like I expected," she referred to her the conversation with her mother. "But listen to this: I just got off the phone with Daniel."

"What the hell did he want?" Dave asked.

Meredith could hear the sheets rustle as he sank to the bed, along with the relief in his voice when he spoke. Though she'd been worried about the outcome of the day's events, Dave had easily been more on edge. "He found out about the baby," she responded easily.

He grunted and then huffed. "How'd he take it?" There were times when it seemed like all he could do to keep his sarcastic remarks to himself in regaurds to his girlfriend's ex-husband. But he hated when someone disrespected Krista, even now, so he had determined to hold his tongue and hate the man in silence.

Guiding the rental car through light traffic, she took in some of the familiar sights. "He was surprisingly low key. I'll tell you about it when I get back to the hotel," she promised. "Dave?"

"Hm?" he asked distractedly as the sound of the television roared to life in Meredith's ear.

"I love you," she said suddenly.

It was his turn to laugh. "Where'd that come from?"

Pulling her hair from the ponytail it had been forced into, she giggled as the wind sucked the firey strands through the open window. "From my heart," she answered.

"And the girls say I'm the cheesey one," he groaned. "Hey, Mer?" When she didn't really respond, he said, "I love you, too."

"From your heart?" she asked, a wide grin on her lips. If she had been in that room with him, she knew he would have grabbed her and pinned her to the bed, tickling her until she screamed for mercy.

The belly laugh that sounded from Dave's end of the phone warmed her from the inside. "My heart loves you," he finally confessed. "But there's some other parts of me that are missin' your right about now, too."

She blushed and began to respond when a feeling in her gut stopped her. "Dave," she whispered suddenly, nearly slamming into the car in front of her as it stopped at a red light.

"What? What's wrong?"

Running her hand over protruding belly, she gasped as as she felt it again. "The baby just kicked me." Though she'd felt movement for weeks now, it was the first time she'd felt a definitive kick. Tears pricked her eyes. "She's kicking me," she breathed. "Ouch," she added, rubbing the place where her child's tiny hand or foot had just been.

He'd felt Rebekah and Eden kicking Krista many times during her pregnancies, but the awe in her voice brought tears to his own eyes. They were having a baby. Whether the baby she was carrying had his DNA or not, he decided in that moment that he couldn't walk away, even if he tried. "Bring him home soon, Mer. I can't wait to feel both of you."


	16. Chapter 16

**The Scarlet Letter**

"Meredith!"

The high-pitched sound of Eden's insistent voice brought a smile to Meredith's lips as she turned the bathroom light off and toddled toward the sounds in the kitchen.

She was nearly full term, and oh-so-ready for the baby to be born. As far as Meredith was concerned, pregnancy was completely over-rated. Dave said she was getting more beautiful every time he saw her. And she thought Dave was a big, fat liar.

Her ankles were so swollen, her favorite Jimmy Choo's didn't fit anymore. She was sure there were bruises on the inside of her stomach from the baby's perpetual kicking. And she was pretty sure she spent more time in the bathroom than out of it since the baby had decided to take up residence over her bladder.

Rounding the corner of the new house she and Dave had just purchased, she found Eden moving a large, wooden spoon around the mixing bowl on the kitchen counter. Her dark hair was pulled high on her head, her little pink tongue sticking out in determination. The bond with Dave's youngest daughter had been slow-going, at best, but Meredith had finally found the key: baking.

"What's up, Pumpkin Muffin?" Meredith asked, approaching the granite counter with a bright smile.

Krista had been promoted to District Manager of a chain of salons, but the new position had brought far more travel than the single mother had anticipated. She had agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to allow the girls to stay with Meredith if she had to leave on a Tuesday, knowing that Dave would be home the following day. While she was scared to death at first, terrified that she would ruin these girls, that she would do something so wrong that the girls would run home and tell their mother all about it, she found herself having more fun than she had ever anticipated.

Eden looked up proudly, pushing the bowl in Meredith's direction. "I got it all mixed up," she boasted.

Peering into the bowl, Meredith nodded, impressed with Eden's ability to thoroughly mix the sugar cookie dough. "Can we make fun shapes again?" she asked hopefully.

"Absolutely," Meredith nodded, moving to the drawer that housed her various cookie cutters. "Butterflies for you?" Eden nodded as Meredith laid the silver cutter on the counter. "Daisies for Bekah. What do I want?" She bit her lip in concentration. "How about hearts for me?"

"No, do the hearts for Daddy," Eden laughed, her nose scrunched up. The last time she had made heart cookies for her dad, he had complained for an hour that he got the girlie ones. And it had amused Eden to no end.

The smile was infectious as Meredith agreed and then perused the drawer again. "So then for me," she started and then stopped suddenly.

"Meredith?" Eden asked, her eyes growing wide as she looked at her father's girlfriend. "Did you just wet your pants?"

Allowing her eyes to drift to the floor, Meredith shook her head and bit her lip. She'd been having contractions for two days, but they hadn't been bad until earlier that morning. Determined not to worry the girls, she had plastered on a happy face and pretended that she wasn't feeling the agonizing pain every fifteen minutes or so.

"Um, no," she admitted, biting her lip and trying to think of what she should do next. "Rebekah!" she called out, turning her back to the kitchen counter and resting against it.

Moving slowly, and still trying to watch the television over her shoulder, Rebekah came into the room, a can of Pepsi in her hand. "What's goin' on?" she asked when she finally looked at her dad's girlfriend. "Shit," she gasped when she looked at the floor. "Did your water break?"

Meredith nodded and pointed to the counter. "Can you go start the car for me?"

Rebekah was gone before having to be asked twice. Pulling on Meredith's sleeve, Eden looked at her expectantly. "Can I help, too?" she asked.

Smiling through another contraction, Meredith pointed toward the stairs. "Can you go get the little suitcase by my bed for me? Take it to the car, okay?" Eden zipped out of the room, her ponytail swaying in the wind that she was creating.

Withdrawing her phone from the back pocket of her jeans, Meredith took a deep breath and rested her hand on her stomach. "Just a minute, baby. I want you to come out, but not r_ight now_," she gritted her teeth and dialed Dave's number.

"Hey, Sexy Momma," Dave's smooth voice caressed her ears as he answered the phone.

Meredith hiccuped slightly. "When does your flight leave?" she asked. Maybe it was in her head, but the pain seemed to be intensifying.

"In the morning," Dave reminded, his heart speeding up as his instincts kicked in. "Is it time?"

"Uh huh," Meredith giggled slightly, shaking her head as Eden raced past the kitchen door, It was the most exciting day of her life, but it was also terrifying. She didn't know what to do, what to think, or what to say. What did the books say? Did it even matter?

"Shit," Dave hissed, taking a quick look around the backstage area of the arena. He was a three-hour drive from home. A flight would be quicker, but there was no guarantee that he would find one out in time. "Okay," he sighed, trying to think of a plan.

But Meredith didn't have time to wait for him to formulate a plan. "I know you're going to do whatever you can to get here," she assured him. "Just get here." Disconnecting the call, she moved as quickly as she could to the front porch, only to see the girls watching her expectantly from the vehicle.

Rebekah stepped out of the car and watched as her dad's girlfriend waddled toward them, her face twisting with each step. "Um, Meredith," she started. "Don't think I'm trying to take advantage of the situation or anything, but if you want," she tripped over asking the question for fear the stress might make the older woman snap.

But Meredith just nodded and pointed to the car. "How many lessons have you had?" she asked the newly permitted driver. Another stab of pain shot through her abdomen as the contractions became more frequent. Shaking her head, she opened the passenger's side and slammed the door. "You can drive," she hissed.

Nervously gripping the wheel, Rebekah tried to remember everything she had been taught in her sessions with her parents, and with the instructor at school. Though she had begged to be allowed this opportunity for years, the magnitude of the moment was making her heart race.

"Calm down, Sweetie," Meredith smiled, reaching over to lay a hand on Rebekah's thigh. "We're all gonna be fine," she assured.

A soft hand reached over the back seat and stroked the back of Meredith's hair, reminding her instantly just how much Eden was like her father. "Does it hurt, Meredith?" she asked, her tiny voice just above a whisper.

Nodding, Meredith gritted her teeth and gripped the handle of the door when Rebekah stomped on the brake a little too hard at the red light. "It's uncomfortable, Pumpkin," she answered honestly. "But it'll be fine," she reiterated, not wanting to scare the youngest Batista.

Arriving at the hospital without incident, Eden kept a death grip on Meredith's suitcase with one hand, and her father's girlfriend with the other. Rebekah followed at a slight distance, tucking her hair behind her ears as she watched Meredith approach the front desk of the maternity ward.

"Eden," Rebekah whispered to her younger sister, motioning for the young girl to join her. "Come back here."

Meredith nodded down toward Eden before returning to her paperwork, as the young girl slinked back to her sister's side. "I'm kinda scared, Bekah," Eden whispered.

The older girl wasn't faring much better. Though she understood more of what was happening than her sister could, the extent of her pregnancy experience extended only to what she had been taught in health class. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened with Meredith, but Rebekah couldn't help wishing that her father was there.

An attendant appeared with a wheel chair, smiling brightly at Meredith as she winced and sank into the seat. "Come on, girls," she motioned for Rebekah and Eden to join her as they moved through the double doors and toward her room.

"I know these aren't your daughters," the attendant, a middle-aged man in green scrubs, spoke in a soothing voice. "You cannot be old enough."

Meredith shook her head and breathed deeply as her contractions subsided once again. Before she could speak, Eden's voice answered the question. "Step daughters," she corrected.

Rebekah smiled at Meredith when she looked surprised. "Well, it'll be true soon enough, right?" she asked with a shrug, drawing a nod from Meredith as the attendant pushed the door to her private birthing room open and set about making the mother-to-be as comfortable as she possibly could be.

-------

"Eden, stop it," Rebekah hissed from her seat beside Meredith's hospital bed. They had already been there for two hours and if Eden didn't stop touching everything, her sister was going to knock her out. _At least we're in the hospital_, the older girl thought to herself.

As she snapped the latex glove around her wrist, her giggle quickly turned into a scowl. "Ouch," she pouted, causing Meredith to smile brightly before cringing again. "Is it getting worse?" Meredith nodded and Eden hopped off of the stool she was standing on to run to her side. Running a hand over the older woman's forehead, Eden considered her carefully. "I'm sorry it hurts."

Licking her lips, Meredith tried to smile through the pain, but the contractions were coming hard and fast. She knew that the time was approaching quickly, and she loved having the girls around. But what she really wanted was Dave.

He had called to say that he was on the road, that he had gotten permission to leave the show before it started, and that he would be there as soon as he could. She had smiled, until he asked her to hold off as long as she could, to just wait until he could be with her. Then she had hung up the phone and thrown it across the room, promptly telling his daughters that their father was a dumbass.

When the pain subsided, she reached to the bedside table and drank from the styrofoam cup of water Rebekah had fetched. Both girls were quiet by nature, but they had proven great company. Though it was hard to distract from the sudden stabs of pain shooting through her body, they had done everything they could to entertain her. Rebekah read to her from fashion magazines while Eden made up songs and dances about every piece of medical equipment she could find in the room.

The sound of a phone ringing pierced the momentary silence of the room and Rebekah jumped at the sound. Realizing it was hers, she answered it before the woman she had deemed the "Nazi Nurse" came back and told her that phones were not allowed. It wasn't her fault people wanted to talk to her.

"Hello?" she whispered, her eyes shifting to the door.

She was met with a warm chuckle. "Are you hiding?" her dad asked, mirroring her whisper with one of his own.

"Yes," Rebekah nodded, standing and moving toward the window. "From the bitch nurse that tried to take my phone away before," she spat.

_God, she's so much like her mother_, Dave thought as he pocketed his keys and cleared his throat. "Do you have a brother yet?" he asked.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "No, but I have a sister who's about to choke herself on tongue depressors or break her wrist with a latex glove," she shot sarcastically. When Meredith groaned again, Rebekah chewed on her bottom lip and cast a look out the window. "Hurry, Dad. I think she's gonna go soon."

"Just tell me what room you're in, Kiddo, and I'll be there before you can hang up the phone," he smiled wider, nodding toward the nurses at the front desk as he stepped past them.

Rebekah crossed the room quickly and stepped into the hall, waving at her father as a sense of relief washed over her. "I'm so glad you're here," she sighed, burying her face in his chest as he embraced her.

"Not cut out to be a birthing coach, huh?" Dave asked, rubbing his daughter's back. When she shook her head, he sighed. "Ya know, this is what happens when you have sex."

Rebekah crinkled her nose and held up a finger. "First of all, that's your girlfriend in there," she reminded. "Which means that you had," clearing her throat, she shuddered. "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."

Dave's laughter echoed through the halls while he ushered his daughter back into the room, his eyes resting on the sweaty, beautiful face of his girlfriend. "You waited," he said.

Resting against the pillows, Meredith nodded and then chuckled when Eden launched herself into her father's legs. She had a hard time smiling, though, as another round of contractions racked her body, causing her to sit up and grip the side railings. "Dave?" she yelped.

Stepping to her side, Dave put a hand over hers and pushed her hair from her forehead. "What can I do, baby?" he asked, dropping to the chair.

"Get a damn doctor," she ordered, a wave of nausea washing over her. "Eden," she called out.

Without further direction, the young girl grabbed the bucket at the side of the bed and held it as far away from her body as she possibly could. Meredith had already gotten sick twice, and the nurse that Rebekah didn't like had brought them a new bucket, just in case. Eden didn't know what her sister's problem was - the Nazi Nurse seemed nice enough to her.

Dave watched in wonder as Rebekah flew to Meredith's other side and held her hair loosely away from her face, a washcloth pressed against her head. They had a system that he had been no part of, and though he couldn't help feeling a little bit left out, he was thrilled to see them working as a team.

"Dad!" Rebekah barked, pointing to the door when she realized that he was still standing there.

He was gone only a few minutes before returning with a new nurse. "Looks like somebody's ready to have a baby," the nurse smiled cheerfully.

But Meredith was feeling anything but cheerful. And seeing anyone else smile at the moment was starting to piss her off. "Just get it out," she pleaded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The nurse nodded and checked Meredith's vitals as Dave stood back with the girls. "Is this normal?" Rebekah asked in a hushed tone. "Was it like this with mom? When we were born?"

Dave grinned at the memories of the previous births he had witnessed. Shaking his head, he considered Meredith and then shrugged. "There was a lot more swearing with your mom. And screaming. But the rest is pretty similar," he admitted, grabbing Eden and hitching her onto his hip. "I want you guys to go down to the waiting room, okay? And I'll come get you when your brother is born," he promised.

Eden huffed and pouted. "I wanna see it," she whined. "And Meredith says it's a girl."

"Yeah," Dave nodded with a smirk. "Meredith's wrong sometimes, Sweetie." When the doctor breezed into the room, he sat Eden's feet back on the floor. "Go wait for me, okay?"

Meredith's eyes met his across the room, and Dave felt all of his breath rushing from his body. "If you're just gonna stand there, I think I'd rather have the girls here," she returned his smug look and then raised an eyebrow.

Before he could respond, a woman that they both knew well breezed into the room, reading a chart and humming a tune to herself. "Alright, Mer," she said, rubbing her hands together. "You ready to have a baby?"

Nodding, Meredith offered her doctor the best smile she could muster. "It hurts, Dr. Sutherland," she sighed. "And I swear, if I don't get to go to the bathroom soon, I'm gonna ruin these sheets," she insisted, flopping her head against the pillow again.

Dave smiled to himself as he sat in the chair beside his girlfriend. He wove his fingers through hers and leaned his shoulder against the bed, trying to get as comfortable as possible. She would be transferring all of her pain to his fingers soon enough.

"It's completely natural to feel like you have to use the restroom when the baby is moving into position, Meredith. Relax," she assured. "They're cheap sheets for a reason, Sweetie," she added with a wink, watching as her intern attached the stirrups to the sides of the bed.

Her contractions were coming constantly, barely subsiding before another slammed over her body. Though she fought to stay somewhat calm, Meredith wanted to grab everything within arms' reach and throw it across the room. "Please tell me this won't last long," she pleaded, resting her feet in the stirrups as the doctor began to examine her.

Looking up, Dr. Sutherland nodded. "Can't make any promises, Sweetie, but we're just about ready to get started. You're fully dialated," she said as though that would somehow make everything all better.

"That means the baby's ready to come out," Dave whispered, an excited grin breaking out on his face.

Meredith rolled her head to the side and glared. "I know what it means," she snapped. But as soon as she had growled, her face relaxed and her bottom lip trembled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be bitchy," she apologized. Emotions were racing through her body so quickly that she didn't know how to counter them. Fortunately, a disturbing sensation distracted her. "What the hell was that?"

Dr. Sutherland nodded and rested a gloved hand on Meredith's bare knee. "The baby is shifting, getting ready to join us," she explained, standing and turning to her intern. Sliding masks over their faces, the pair whispered to one another and Dr. Sutherland returned to the stool at the foot of the bed. "On the next contraction, I'm going to have you push for me, okay? We'll see if we can't encourage Baby Casey-Batista to come out and play."

Dave bristled immediately as Meredith clamped onto his hand and waited for the word. He'd been thrown around the ring in all kinds of uncomfortable positions, but he would take that pain over this one any day of the week and twice on Sunday. She wasn't a large woman, but she was damn strong.

Pushing when she was told, and trying her best to relax when instructed, Meredith felt like she was on a sadistic roller coaster. Her body felt like it was working against her, as though the baby inside had suddenly changed its mind.

_I wonder if she's scared_, Meredith thought as she began to push again. _Is she scared to come out? It's not like she knows anything else. This is new for her. And the lighting's not very good. It's so bright_. For a brief moment, she laughed at the absurdity of her rambling thoughts. But another push and another scream kept the smile from becoming too permanent.

Dave did his best to keep his mouth shut, just watching in awe as Meredith rode the waves and did exactly as she was told. Her body bucked from the bed as tears and sweat poured down her porcelain cheeks. He wanted to take it all away, would gladly go through a thousand Hell in a Cell matches if it would soothe her pain.

"You wanna see somethin' cool, Daddy?" Dr. Sutherland interrupted Dave's thoughts. "The head is crowning," she winked.

Dave turned to Meredith and her wet eyes danced beneath the agony. She nodded slightly and moaned again, giving him silent permission to leave her side. He moved just a few steps and peered at the top of his child's head. The spontaneous laugh that escaped his throat seemed irreverant against the silence of the room. With a hand over his mouth, he felt the tears spilling when he turned back to Meredith. "That's a lotta damn hair," he finally said, shaking his head and laughing again.

She wanted to laugh with him, but the feeling of her vagina being split open just wasn't funny. "Goddamit, she's got your big head," Meredith said through clenched teeth, pulling on the handrails for support as she pushed the baby further through her birth canal.

When the head was finally free, Dr. Sutherland began to extract the first shoulder. "Come on, Meredith. You're doin' so great, Sweetie. We're almost there," she encouraged. "Push for me."

Gritting her teeth harder, Meredith closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could. "Damn you, Dave!" she shouted, causing her boyfriend look up in shock. "Why do you have to be so damn big?!?" Her voice was frenzied, screaming and choking all at once as her body fought like hell to extract the child.

There were about a million wisecracks he could make, but even he was smart enough to know better than that at the moment. "Mer, this kid is," he searched for a word to describe the beauty of the shrivelled and wrinkley baby slowly struggling for freedom. "Damn," he whispered in awe, wiping another round of tears.

"One more push, Meredith. We're almost there, Sweetheart. Just one more big push and he'll be out," she instructed.

Dave watched Meredith's face as she concentrated on her final push. Her face nearly matched her red hair as she grunted. He knew, instinctively, the moment the baby was free as Meredith threw her head back against the pillow and let out a screech. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

When the intern handed Dr. Sutherland a pair of scissors, she turned to Dave. "You wanna cut your son's chord, Daddy?"

Dave's heart caught in his throat. He had been teasing Meredith for months about the sex of the baby, but knowing for sure that he had a son was overwhelming. Taking the scissors with shaking hands, he cut the chord and cast his gaze back to the boy, just before the intern wisked him away to a small table.

"Okay, Meredith, I need you to push one more time for me, okay?" Dr. Sutherland instructed, extracting the placenta as mother and son both cried out in unison.

As though the world were fading away, Meredith laid against the pillows and listened to the soft sound of her son's indignant crying. Though she had insisted the baby was a girl, she had to admit that she the joy was all the same. A son. She had a son.

Once he was cleaned and wrapped in a blue blanket, Dr. Sutherland delivered the seven pound baby boy to his mother. "Here you go, Mommy," she smiled, watching as Meredith wiped the tears from her ear. "He's beautiful."

Meredith held her arms out and rested the boy against her stomach, just as the books had instructed. The little blue hat on his head was just slightly too big, falling into his closed eyes. "Hey, you," she whispered, pushing the hat back.

His dark eyelashes fanned over his cheeks, a picture of absolute serenity. His smooth skin was covered in red splotches, but looked flawless to his mother. As she ran her thumb over his little cheek, he raised his hand and clenched her finger tightly. A giggle escaped Meredith's lips, followed by another round of tears.

Dave stood at her side, afraid to sit, to disturb them. When his hand met her shoulder, Meredith raised her eyes to him, smiling. "He's beautiful," was all he could think to say.

Nodding in agreement, she motioned for Dave to join her in the bed. "He looks like you," she said, leaning her head against her boyfriend's shoulder as he perched on the edge of the bed.

It had been the one topic they had been avoiding. It was still possible that a paternity test could name Daniel the father. But the dark skin, thin lips, and broad shoulders were definitely reminiscent of Dave. "He kinda looks like Rebekah did when she was born," he finally said, running a soft hand over the baby's forehead.

"He has your big ears," Meredith pointed out, touching the velvety soft lobe.

Dave chuckled. "Well, he is pretty damn handsome," he smirked.

Turning her face to Dave, Meredith smiled and nodded. "That he is," she agreed, brushing her lips to his cheek. "Just like his daddy."


	17. Chapter 17

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: Hey guys! This story is almost done - just one more chapter to go. I really appreciate every review that you've left for this particular piece - it's one of my favorite and it means the world to me that you're all enjoying it, as well. Just as a note, I realize that I didn't name the new baby in the last chapter and that's because I hadn't decided the name at the time that I posted. Even in writing this time, I changed his little name three times, but the one that I finally decided on is of Celtic/Gaelic origin, due to Meredith's heritage, and means "Son of the Fighter." Enjoy!**

Being in the ring in front of thousands of fans didn't make him nervous. Television tapings didn't make him nervous. Sitting down for an interview with a reporter he'd never met didn't make him nervous. But his impending meeting with Daniel Casey made him nervous.

In an hour, he and Meredith would meet with her ex-husband, and their respective lawyers to receive the results of the paternity test. In an hour, he would know for sure if Caine King was his son, or if the odds had beat him and Daniel would be allowed back into their lives on a regular basis.

He made good money, and had no trouble taking care of his family. But Daniel could afford Caine with privileges that Dave could never dream of providing. While Dave still had two girls to put through college, Daniel's children were self-sufficient, leaving him plenty of funds to take care of Caine's education, and absolutely everything he could possibly want until then.

And it wasn't just the money that had Dave worried. Daniel had time that Dave's traveling wouldn't afford. While Meredith had often complained of her ex-husband's business trips, they paled in comparison to Dave's schedule. If Caine was proven Daniel's son, there was a good chance he would make sure that Dave never got to see him.

As he sat on the couch, tapping his heel against the floor, he stared deftly at the plush carpet and tried to calm the nerves coursing through his body. Today would either be the greatest, or the worst, day of his life. And he couldn't pretend to be calm, even if he tried.

"What's wrong with you?" Rebekah asked, flopping onto the couch beside her father with a grunt.

Dave lifted his eyes to give his daughter a warning look. "You know what today is, right?"

The young woman rolled her eyes and slung her legs into his lap, resting her cheek against the back of the couch. "I'm not mentally challenged," Rebekah responded to her father's question. "Daddy?" When he raised his eyes, she spoke in a small voice. "What happens if Caine isn't ours? I mean, if you're not. . . If this test says you're not his dad, what happens then?"

For the first time since his divorce from Krista, he wished that he could say, "Go ask your mother." How was he supposed to make his sixteen-year-old daughter understand what he didn't understand himself? His main goal, since the day she was born, was to protect her from the world, to preserve her innocence. But the situation wasn't innocent, and the answers just weren't easy.

Reaching out, he rested his hand on her arm. "I don't know," he answered honestly. The time for being the guy who had all the answers was past. She would see right through any bull shit he tried to pass off anyway.

"Well," she sighed, licking her lips as she tried to think of how she was gonna ask what she really wanted to know. "Are you and Meredith gonna stay together?"

Though he nodded, Dave said nothing as he tried to fight the tears building in his eyes. He knew that he wanted to be with Meredith, that he loved her. And he loved Caine, whether he was the biological father or not. But he couldn't predict how Meredith would react to the paternity news, and he couldn't bring himself to breach the subject for fear that he wouldn't like the response.

"Daddy, Meredith needs you," Eden announced, running into the room with a Popsicle in her hand. She jumped onto the couch, and held the treat out to her sister. "Want a lick?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes again, and pushed her sister's hand away. "Get off me, Brat."

Shaking his head as he climbed the stairs, Dave tried to force a smile. Meredith had thrown up three times the night before in anticipation for the day's meeting, and he knew that the last thing she needed was his nerves on top of her own.

Entering the bedroom, Dave found Meredith pacing the room, frantically searching for something as she spewed directions to the babysitter, who was holding Caine on the bed in the center of the room. "So I fed him about twenty minutes ago, but there are bottles in this refrigerator," Meredith said, pointing to the mini-fridge near the wall. "He shouldn't need another one for another hour and a half," she added.

"Would you tell her I know how to do this?" Krista asked from her place on the bed.

Asking his ex-wife to watch the baby had been difficult, but Dave was relieved to find that Krista felt like she owed Meredith one for all the times she had watched the girls. Though they still weren't the best of friends, Dave could feel the tension between himself and Krista dissipating over time. He knew that all of the credit for their amicable relationship had to go to their daughters, as Krista began to accept the separation more as Rebekah and Eden grew closer to Meredith.

"Baby," Dave stepped forward and put his hands on Meredith's waist as she grew more frantic in her search. "What are you looking for?"

Turning in his arms, Meredith's wide eyes pleaded with Dave. "I just need my other nude pump," she said, her voice catching in her throat as she began to blink.

With a look over his shoulder, Krista seemed to understand his request without words. "How about we go find your sisters, okay, little man?" she cooed at Caine as she left the room.

When they were alone, Dave pushed Meredith back toward the bed and held her steady by the shoulders. Kneeling in front of her, he moved his hands to her thighs and gently massaged her muscles. "Sweetheart, breathe for me, okay?"

Her mind immediately flashed to the moment she had told Daniel she was leaving. Dave had been there to save her that day, as well. He was always there to save her. "I need my shoe," she whispered, her bottom lip quivering as Dave nodded and stood with his hands on his hips. "I know I had it last night," she added, wiping her eyes and tucking her hair behind her ears as her boyfriend dropped to all fours and lifted the corner of the bed skirt.

Being a first time mother wasn't easy. What if she dropped him? What if she started working and forgot about him? What if she put too much water in his baby bath? What if he didn't stop crying when she fed and changed him? What if she fell asleep at night and didn't hear him crying? What if something happened when she finally got a nap and she wasn't there to stop it?

The stress and fatigue were wearing on her, especially since Dave had been gone for three of the days since his birth a week earlier. Added to the stress of parenting was the looming curiosity about the paternity test. They had all agreed to receive the results together, but Daniel had been out of town when Meredith gave birth. By the time he returned, Dave was on the road again. And the waiting felt like it was killing her.

With a grunt, Dave stood and offered his girlfriend the missing shoe. "You about ready to head out?"

She stood from the bed and smoothed her hands over her dress pants. With a confident nod, she turned toward the door, only to have Dave pull her back. When their eyes met, Meredith found her center of gravity returning. It was going to be okay. It had to be okay.

Wordlessly, Meredith grabbed her purse and led the way down the stairs, where Krista was cradling Caine, flanked on each side by her daughters. "I really appreciate this, Krista," Meredith spoke as she moved toward the group on the couch.

Krista handed the baby off to his mother and nodded in response, accepting the tiny bundle of blankets back after Meredith had kissed his head. "Good luck," she said as the couple left the house.

The drive to the lawyer's office was quiet, the light whisper of jazz music playing in the background as Dave and Meredith studied the road, consumed in their own thoughts. In less than an hour, they would know. The question that had plagued them for nine months would be answered in less than an hour.

As Dave walked around the front of the car, Meredith worried that she would vomit again. Daniel's car was parked just a few spaces down, and the idea of seeing him turned her world on it's ear. "I can't go in there," she whispered when Dave opened her door.

With a smile of reassurance, Dave shut the door and put a hand on the small of her back. "You can. I'm right here. We're in this together, remember?"

But even as they continued to walk toward the building, she felt her breathing growing short. "It's going to fall apart. Daniel's going to be Caine's father. He's going to gloat for his victory. And then I'm going to be forced to punch him in the face. Then I'm going to get charged with assault, and they're going to take my baby away. Then you're going to leave me because I have a violent temper and you can't trust me with your kids, either, and I'm going to be left with nothing. Alone and bitter and miserable."

When she finally took a breath, Dave felt the smile crossing his lips before he could stop it. The laughter that followed seemed to break the tension of the moment. "What the hell are you talkin' about, woman?" Stopping outside the glass doors of the entrance, Dave wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed the top of her head.

Raising her eyes to him with a withering pout, she buried her face in his chest and breathed the scent of his cologne. "Are you still gonna love me if," she started to ask.

Raising her chin with his finger, Dave silenced her with a kiss. "Always," he answered, unsure if he could handle hearing the words from her mouth. It wasn't that he was trying to live in a fantasy, but he'd dealt with reality for the last several months, and he was ready for his happily-ever-after.

Daniel rose from his seat at the conference table as they entered. When Dave moved to shake the lawyer's hand, Meredith forced herself to meet her ex-husband's gaze. "You didn't bring the baby?" he asked, disappointment evident in his voice.

Shaking her head, she lowered herself into the chair Dave had pulled out for her. "He's with a sitter," she answered, resting her hands on the table before her and taking a deep breath.

"I don't see any reason to belabor the point," the lawyer finally said, taking a sealed envelope from his desk before sitting at the table with the other three. "Unless there's anything that anyone feels should be said before I reveal the results."

It appeared that Daniel might want to unburden his soul, but Dave was the one who spoke. "There's nothing to say," he said with authority. What could any of them say that would make the situation any better?

"Okay, then," the lawyer smiled, as though this weren't the most agonizing day of their lives. "I am obligated, by law, to let you know that this test was conducted by a certified lab, independently selected by the medical institution that drew the blood samples from the parties involved, and that none of these aforementioned parties has been made privy to the contents contained herein." He looked over the card that had been prepared for him ahead of time. "I can also assure you that the test offers a 99.5 percent accuracy rating, and that it is admissible as evidence in a court of law to determine the custody of Caine David King."

"You gave him _his_ name? And your maiden name?" Daniel interrupted angrily.

Shaking her head, Meredith offered no defense. What could she say? She had legally dropped her married name nearly six months earlier, but had failed to let him know that. And in her mind, the middle name tied her son to his father, biological or not. But Daniel wasn't going to see it that way, no matter how she explained the situation. "Please continue," she said to the lawyer.

Clearing his throat after being so rudely interrupted, the man at the head of the table laid his notes to the side. "I will now reveal the results of the paternity test," he announced, tearing the envelope open and perusing the document. "According to the certified and notarized results, David Michael Batista is the father of Caine David King."

Tears coursed down Meredith's cheeks as Dave sat stunned. He had hoped for it. He had dreamed of it. Most of the time, he was sure of it. But hearing it announced legally and officially brought a chuckle, strangled by tears of joy. "Damn," he managed to whisper.

Meredith was mildly aware of the fact that Daniel had excused himself from the table, though she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. He was a chapter of her life that was now over. The man she loved was the father of her son, and they could now start their new life together, unhindered by any of the drama or the baggage of the past.

Standing from the table, she extended a hand to her glassy-eyed boyfriend. "Ready to go home and spend some time with your son?"


	18. Chapter 18

**The Scarlet Letter**

**A/N: I had to repost this, since some of the lines that separated the sections didn't show up the first time - if you read it that way and were confused - I'm so sorry. Anyway - this is the finale of the story, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you!**

**---**

Meredith sat at her desk, situated next to window at the far end of her studio. The floor-to-ceiling windows allowed the midday Florida sun to stream in, washing over her like a warm shower on a winter's day. Three-year-old Caine was finally sleeping, and she was thankful for the opportunity to work on her newest collection for the local boutique that had faithfully stocked her work for the last eighteen months.

When Dave had called two days earlier to inform her that he wouldn't be able to make it home for the week as he had originally intended, she had been less-than-thrilled. The company had booked him for an interview and a photo shoot, and then he had been invited to dinner with a Hollywood producer to discuss a possible film role. While Meredith didn't care what he had to, it wasn't her place to force him home. If he didn't want to be with his family, she wasn't about to guilt him into it.

Though she had been expecting his travel schedule to accelerate once again when he regained the World Heavyweight title for the third time, living with the reality had proven to be a far greater challenge than she had anticipated. It had been the undoing of her first marriage, being married to a man who was more interested in his career than his wife. While she loved Dave, she found herself once again forced into the backseat. They smiled pretty and made the best of things for their son, and his daughters, but both knew that Meredith was one more canceled visit from walking away from yet another relationship.

Things had been fabulous in the beginning. After Caine was born, Dave had done everything in his power to be home as often as possible. When he simply couldn't be, he invited Meredith and their son to join him on the road. They had even managed to turn the WWE's summer trip to Europe into their first real family vacation, taking all three kids on a few sightseeing excursions when Dave could spare a few moments.

When they couldn't be together, Meredith busied herself with her paintings and designs, building a respectable name for herself among several buyers in the area. And, of course, being a mother took more time than she had ever dreamed. She didn't love being separated from her boyfriend, but there were plenty of things to distract her when he was away. They spoke on the phone when time permitted, and though the year brought it's fair share of challenges, they came through it stronger than they had been before their son's birth.

Meredith had thrown herself into planning a first birthday party that Caine would never remember, but that nobody else in attendance would be able to forget. Unfortunately, the powers that be scheduled Dave for an interview with a national television program the same weekend, and Meredith had nearly lost her mind when he called to tell her about it. Expletives he had never dreamed of using flowed from his girlfriend's mouth.

Though he knew that she had a valid point, Dave found her tone offensive, and in a flash of defensive indignation, he told her to get over herself and accept the fact that he couldn't be there for every party she decided to throw. His temper had always been his greatest flaw. His arrogant selfishness came in a close second. And both had exploded in the course of that conversation.

Danae had been the one to talk him off the ledge, lovingly reminding him that he had already screwed up one marriage by putting his career ahead of his family. She told him that if he didn't decide to save this relationship, he would be a two-time loser. As soon as the interview wrapped in New York, he raced to the airport and bought the last ticket on a flight back to Tampa. Like something out of a fairy tale, he managed to walk through the doors of his home just minutes before the first party guests arrived.

When their friends and family had left for the evening, Dave helped Meredith put Caine to bed and then dropped to his knee in their bedroom, presenting her with a beautiful ring and asking her to marry him. Meredith had accepted happily, though the couple had yet to set an official date. Things fell back into a normal routine shortly thereafter, and both found themselves struggling to keep the tattered ship together.

Casting her eyes to the backyard once again, she found her thoughts interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. Grabbing it distractedly, she answered and tried to focus on the design before her. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mommy," the voice greeted happily and Meredith rolled her eyes. A deep voice cleared on the other end before speaking again. "What's up, Mer Bear?"

She cringed at Jayden's use of the nickname his father had coined so many years before. "Caine's finally sleeping, so I'm trying to get some work done," she answered, dropping her pencil and pinching the bridge of her nose. "What's up with you?"

"Nothin'," he answered easily, and Meredith could almost picture the young man leaning back in his office chair, crossing his legs at the ankles as he rested them on his desk. "Just thinkin' about you," he added.

Her heart rate accelerated as she pushed away from the drafting table and wished to hell she could push down the feelings of guilt that bubbled up at the sound of his voice. He was practically family. She had no romantic feelings for him. She was engaged to be married.

"Jayden," she started, unsure of just how she should tell the young man to back off. She hadn't exactly rejected his advances earlier in the week, when he had kissed her good night after the dinner she had cooked for him.

When he had called her, nearly six months earlier, saying that Emma was asking about her and wanted to see her Meredith again, she had seen no problem with letting the young girl come over to play. She was working from home, and would love to see her former "grand daughter" again.

What she hadn't expected was that Jayden would be a part of the package. His own marriage had dissolved a year earlier, and he was tired of immersing himself in his work to cover the loneliness. While Emma doted over young Caine, Meredith and Jayden shared music between their laptops and debated old gangster movies.

He made no effort to hide the fact that he was physically attracted to the woman who had once been his father's wife, but Meredith had remained strong. She laughed off his advances and assured him that she was happy in her relationship with Dave. But Jayden didn't know the meaning of "rejection." He chose to believe that she was simply delaying the inevitable.

Truth be told, Meredith was lonely. She wanted someone to hang out with, and someone to make her feel wanted. Plenty of people needed her. Caine. Eden. Rebekah. Even Dave. But Jayden felt like the only one in the world who really wanted to be with her anymore. Even when Dave was home, he was on the phone with Hunter or one of the road agents. Even when the girls came over, they were busy with other friends or showering their little brother with attention. She just wanted to spend some time with someone who wanted to hang with her.

"So what are you doing tonight?" Jayden asked suddenly, cutting her off before she had a chance to shoot him down. "Because I scored a reservation at 'Amici e Amanti' at nine o'clock and I would love it if you could join me."

'Amici e Amanti', translated Friends and Lovers, was Meredith's favorite Italian restaurant, and she knew that reservations were hard to come by. She also knew that Jayden hated Italian food. "I can't," she declined with a voice full of hesitation. It wasn't that she didn't want to, or that she even thought it was wrong to accept an obviously romantic advance from a man other than her fiancee. "I can't find a sitter for Caine on such short notice."

With the same easy, undeterred cadence Jayden responded. "Try. If you can find a way, then I'll be there at 9:00. If you can't, we'll just try for some other time."

They said a quick good-bye and Meredith stood from the desk, only to collapse onto the bed. If she could honestly convince herself that it would just be dinner with a friend, she knew that she could find a sitter. But she also knew that the possibility of crossing the line, of finding solace in Jayden for just one night, was high. If she drank too much. If he was his usual charming self. If he wore that cologne that smelled like heavy, musky sex. There were too many variables, too many possibilities. She wasn't sure she could trust herself not to cross the line again, like she had with Dave.

Another blaring ring interrupted the quiet. She didn't want to talk to anyone. Not now. Especially him. She couldn't bear to hear Dave tell her again that he couldn't make it home. She couldn't stand to think that she might spend another Friday just watching him on television. If she rocked Caine to sleep, kissing his head, and telling him that Daddy would be home soon, she thought she might vomit. She couldn't keep lying to her son, and to herself, anymore.

Taking her cell phone from the bedside table, she hit a number that she knew by heart and waited for the response. "Hey, it's Meredith. You think you might wanna babysit tonight?"

---

"Wow."

Turning to the door of her bedroom, Meredith smiled and ran her hands over the skirt of her classic black dress. "You like?"

Rebekah nodded and let herself into the room, flopping onto the bed. "Eden got a last minute party invite, so she sent me in her place," the nineteen-year-old explained as she laid back on the plush mattress and rested her hands on her stomach. "What does it say about me that my baby sister has plans on a Friday night and I'm free to babysit my little brother?"

"It says that you are your stepmother's angel," Meredith said, turning and holding her arms out to her sides. "So, do I look ravaging or what?"

With a critical eye, Rebekah took in the woman standing before her. The soft black fabric rested against Meredith's porcelain body like a second skin. She wore diamond jewelry that glinted in the light with every breath she took. Her blazing hair was braided and twisted high on her head, making her neck look supermodel long. The strappy heels on her feet gave her an elegant air of sophistication. It was a far cry from the punk queen that Rebekah was used to, but she couldn't deny that Meredith was stunning.

"You got a hot date or what?" she finally asked, hoisting herself into a seated position on the bed. Her dark eyes were intense, boring into her step mom with a "don't give me any bull shit" stare. If anyone had recognized the tension between her father and his girlfriend, it was Rebekah. It was like watching her parents fall apart all over again, and she wanted the truth this time, before she was forced to take sides.

Shaking her head, Meredith took her wrap from the bed and gave Rebekah her best, reassuring smile. The young woman on the bed might not believe her, but there were some truths that just didn't need to be spoken. "I am having dinner with a friend," she answered a vaguely as possible. When Rebekah grunted and rolled off the bed, following her down the hall to Cain's room, Meredith went on. "I haven't had a night out in I don't know how long, and Jayden invited me to dinner."

"Jayden?" Rebekah asked as she moved toward her brother's door and removed the kiddie-gate before lifting the dark-eyed cutie from the floor. "Does Dad know?"

Meredith moved to the dresser and began laying Caine's pajamas out, while tidying the room as she went. "I haven't been able to get in touch with your father all day," she lied. "And he doesn't ask for my permission before he hangs out with his friends," she defended quickly.

"Caine," Rebekah spoke to her brother as he turned his cherubic face toward hers, "Tell your mommy that's because Daddy's friends aren't totally gorgeous, filthy rich guys," she started and then bit her lip. "Wait, they are," she conceded, winking at Meredith. "But they don't wanna have sex with him," she said in a child-like voice.

"Things with your father are," Meredith started and then shook her head. "Jayden and I are just friends," she stated again, as though the repetition would seem more believable.

Rebekah turned without another word and set Caine's feet on the floor. "Let's go get a cookie, Chubbo," she nudged the small boy with her foot as he toddled from the room, clapping his hands and screeching about chocolate chips.

For the millionth time, Meredith second-guessed her decision to meet Jayden. She could insist all she wanted that nothing was going to happen, but a nagging feeling her gut said she wouldn't mind if it did. She had tried to be better for Dave than she had been for Daniel. She done everything in her power to make this one work. Maybe it just wasn't possible. Maybe she needed more than they could give her. Maybe she was the weak link. Maybe she would never be anything better than an adulteress whore.

With a heavy sigh, she checked her watch and grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter. Shoving her conscience a little further to the back of her mind, she kissed Caine good-bye and promised Rebekah that she would call if she was going to be later than midnight.

Determined, she put the car in gear and pulled away from the house. She looked amazing, and she was ready to be shown a good time. A shot ran through her as she went over the plan again. She would be fabulous, bask in the glow of Jayden's attention, and then come home and cuddle up with her son for the night. If there was a glitch in the plan, from Jayden's side or her own, she would deal with it later.

---

By the time she arrived in front of the breath taking structure, the air had begun to chill. Pulling her wrap tighter around her shoulders, she checked the time on her phone and proceeded to the front door, her heart pounding in her chest. The glass elevator felt like a cage, and she began to feel a suffocated sense of claustrophobia. She could do this. It wasn't a big deal.

Dave's eyes registered his shock as he opened the door of his hotel room and rested his groggy eyes on Meredith. She wore a black cocktail dress, her hair falling out of the formal style it had been forced into. She carried a pair of pumps in one hand and a clutch in the other. Her eyes were red, her cheeks splotchy, as if she had cried all of her make up away during the flight from Tampa to Des Moines, Iowa.

"What are you?" he started.

But Meredith shook her head and pushed him back into the room, kicking the door with her foot. "Do you think we're gonna make it?" she asked.

He had been deep in sleep when she pounded on his door. It was three o'clock in the morning. "What are you doing here?" he asked, lowering his hulking frame to the bed while blinking his eyes against the harsh overhead light.

"I asked you first," Meredith insisted, crossing her arms and staring at him, her eyes clouded with an emotion he couldn't identify. "Do you think that we're gonna make it? Or are we just delaying the inevitable?"

Clearing his throat, Dave twisted his fingers together and rested his elbows on his knees. "Where's Caine?" he asked, his brain starting to awaken a bit.

Meredith threw her arms up and then rested her hands on her hips. "Rebekah's staying with him for the night," she answered coldly.

"Okay," Dave nodded, rising to his feet once again and moving to his girlfriend. With his strong hands on her shoulders, he led Meredith to the bed and gently lowered her to the mattress. "Are you drunk?" he asked. She scoffed. "Well, what do you expect me to think?" he asked defensively. "You show up at my door at three in the morning, demanding to know if we're going to make it?" Taking her hand, he raised it slightly, watching as the light caught the diamond on her finger. "I think that answers your question."

But Meredith wasn't convinced. "That doesn't mean a damn thing and we both know it. It didn't matter when I had one before, and it doesn't matter now," she hissed. "I was supposed to have dinner with Jayden tonight," she informed him, watching his eyes narrow at the news. "And don't think that I'm naïve or stupid, because I know he just wanted to get me drunk and sleep with me. To be honest with you, I kinda wanted him to."

Even if he'd been well-rested, Dave wouldn't have been prepared for the conversation. He knew that things had been rocky, that there had been tension between them for months now, but he never would have expected something like the confession pouring over her lips at that moment. "What are you doing here?" he asked once again. If she wanted to be back in Tampa, sleeping with someone else, then why was she sitting before him, looking broken and defeated?

"Because we were supposed to meet at 'Amici e Amanti'. We were supposed to have primevera and red whine. I wanted primavera," she said, her voice catching in her throat as the tears began to pool in her eyes. "But when I got there, all I could think about was the first time you and I were there. The night that Daniel showed up for a business dinner and you bribed the waitress to sneak us out the back door so he wouldn't catch us."

Dave smiled slightly at the memory. It was the first, and only, time they had nearly been caught during their affair, and the rush of adrenaline had resulted in one of the wildest nights he had ever experienced. "But you knew I wasn't going to show up," he finally said.

"No," Meredith agreed. "But you know what I thought? That was the night I realized that I loved you. Because it was the night that I realized I wasn't really hiding from Daniel. I was hiding with you. All I wanted was to be with you," she cried, her voice climbing as the sob took over her throat. "If you had shown up tonight, I wouldn't have wanted to run away with Jayden," she shook her head. "Or anybody else, because I still just wanna be with you, Dave," she gasped, taking the tissue he was offering.

They both had their flaws. She had quirks and traits that irritated him to no end. There were times when he didn't want to come home, when he didn't think he could stand to look at another sketch from her newest collection. He had tendencies that drove her crazy, as well. Though she never said it, he knew that she hated the amount of time he spent in front of the mirror, or the way he refused to admit that he was wrong. About anything.

Standing form the bed, he ran his hands over his face. The sinking feeling in his gut wasn't due to Meredith's confession at all. It was a violent response to the realization that he had no idea how close he had been to losing her.

Krista had threatened to leave him during damn near every fight they had. She had told him to shape up, to be a better husband and father, or she was going to leave. Meredith never gave him ultimatums. She never told him what to do. She wasn't going to force him into being a better man. But she needed him to figure it out for himself. While Krista demanded he think of someone other than himself, Meredith simply expected him to do it.

He had mistaken her silence for permission, or apathy. At least, he had justified his actions by telling himself that's what it was. He could blame her all he wanted for entertaining the thought of dating someone else, but she hadn't done it. She had flown half way across the country to pour her heart out, to save their relationship. What had he done to help the situation?

"I'm losing the title at the end of the month," he said suddenly. She turned sympathetic eyes to him, but Dave shook his head as he sat at her side once again. "I need to," he insisted. Of course, the news hadn't made him so happy a few days earlier, but now he was seeing the blessing in disguise. "I've got a favor on the back burner," he went on, taking her hand in his and weaving his fingers through hers. "I'm gonna cash it in and take a few weeks off."

Meredith shook her head and stood, running her hands over her skirt. "Dave, I'm not asking you to," she started.

But he just smiled and shook his head. "There are a lot of decisions that we need to make, baby," he spoke softly, his low voice rumbling into the stillness of the room. "My contract expires in a year, and I've been thinking about not renewing." Though she said nothing, he couldn't deny the small smile that tweaked her lips. "Maybe we can use my upcoming time off to set a wedding date?" The smile grew. "I don't know. . . we just need to take some time to work through some things."

With a nod, Meredith lowered herself back to the bed and rested her palms on his cheeks, drawing his forehead to hers. "So," she whispered, pecking his lips lightly before she allowed herself to smile. "You think we're gonna make it?"

Dave laughed and wrapped his arms around her, lifting his fiancee into his lap. "You flew all the way to Iowa to make sure that we did," he said. "What kind of jack ass would I be if I ignored a gesture like that?"

With a happy giggle, she shed her cocktail dress and looked around the room. "I'm going to take a shower and try to get some sleep. It's kinda been a long night," she smiled. "Can you do me a favor and call Rebekah? Let her know that I got into town and that everything's okay?"

As Dave began to dial his daughter's number, he called out. "Meredith?" When she turned, he nodded. "We're gonna make it."


End file.
